The World Science Festival highlights the amazing accomplishments of scientists from around the world through its Pioneers in Science program. Watch these videos provided to Britannica by the festival and read original biographies by Britannica authors to find out more about these scientists’ groundbreaking work. (Authors are identified in parentheses.)
Aprille J. Ericsson
Aprille J. Ericsson has played a key role in designing spacecraft and instruments that contribute to a greater understanding of Earth’s connection with outer space. Ericsson attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she earned a bachelor of science degree in aeronautical/astronautical engineering in 1986. She went on to become the first Black woman to receive a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Howard University. In doing so, she also became the first Black woman with this credential at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, where she had begun working in 1992. During her tenure at NASA, Ericsson spearheaded or otherwise contributed to a number of projects and missions, including the multimillion-dollar Tropical Rain Measuring Mission. This project, a joint venture between NASA and Japan's National Space Development Agency, used satellite technology to track and predict weather patterns on Earth, resulting in better understanding of hurricanes and precipitation. (Claire Levin)
Lisa P. Jackson
In 2009 Lisa P. Jackson became the first African American administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), where she served until 2013. She had begun her career at the EPA, as a staff scientist, in 1987 and continued in that role for 16 years. In 2008 Jackson was named chief of staff to New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, and she also served as the state’s commissioner of environmental protection. That same year President Barack Obama nominated Jackson to be the administrator of the EPA. In that post she worked to reduce greenhouse gases, protect air and water quality, and expand community outreach. After leading the EPA, Jackson joined Apple Inc., where she became vice president of environment, policy, and social initiatives. (Wonyoung Jang)
Mary-Claire King
Mary-Claire King was among seven scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, who demonstrated in 1990 the connection between susceptibility to one form of breast cancer in families and a particular region on chromosome 17 where a causative gene was likeliest to be found. Building on that finding and subsequent ones that narrowed the locus of the gene, another, much larger, multi-institutional research team identified the likeliest gene in 1994. After that gene was confirmed as being responsible for breast cancer predisposition in families, it was officially labeled BRCA1 by the Human Genome Organization’s Gene Nomenclature Committee. Thanks to the work of King and others, women are now screened for harmful BRCA mutations—a practice that can guide patients and their doctors in deciding on treatment to lower the risk of developing cancer. King eventually moved to the University of Washington, where she and her team took on the challenges of characterizing tumor suppressor genes in relation to inherited breast and ovarian cancer, investigating the genetics of schizophrenia, and determining the genetic bases of inherited pediatric diseases. (Caitlin Lozada)
Nora Volkow
Nora Volkow pioneered the use of positron emission tomography to study how drugs affect the brain. She found that addiction lowers dopamine levels in the brain’s frontal lobe, which regulates self-control and motivation. This finding demonstrated that addiction is not a moral failure but a brain disease caused by disrupted fundamental circuits. Volkow, who became director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse in 2003, received multiple honors for her work, including being named one of Time magazine’s “Top 100 People Who Shape Our World.” (Everett Munez)