CHARLES R. DREW (1904–1950), medical researcher and surgeon, was a pioneer in the preservation of blood. Through his outstanding work on blood plasma, Dr. Drew helped save thousands of lives during World War II. The blood plasma bank he organized became the model for the system used nationwide today by the American Red Cross. In ...

HAILE T. DEBAS (1937– ), surgeon and educator, gained national recognition as a gastrointestinal investigator and has made original contributions to the physiology, biochemistry, and pathophysiology of gastrointestinal peptide hormones. In 1987 Dr. Debas, who is keenly interested in education, was recruited to chair the department of surgery at the University of California, San Francisco. ...

W. MONTAGUE COBB (1904–1990) was a distinguished professor of anatomy best known for his research in physical anthropology, the growth and development of the African American, and aging in the adult skeleton. He also chronicled the history of African Americans in medicine. Dr. Cobb served on the Executive Committee of the White House Conference on ...

JEWEL PLUMMER COBB (1924– ) has been the trustee professor since 1990 and, since 1991, director of the ACCESS Center at California State University in Los Angeles. Formerly president of California State University in Fullerton (1981–1990), Dr. Cobb has done extensive cancer research, specializing in cell biology, and was a member of the National Science ...

GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER (early 1860s–1943) was an agricultural chemist. Born into slavery, he helped revolutionize the South’s economy by liberating it from dependence on cotton as its sole crop. During his 47 years at Tuskeegee Institute, where he headed the Department of Agricultural Research, Dr. Carver developed more than 300 products from peanuts. His experiments ...

BENJAMIN SOLOMON CARSON, SR. (1951– ) is director of pediatric neurosurgery as well as associate professor of neurosurgery, oncology, plastic surgery, and pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University. He performed the first successful separation of Siamese twins joined at the back of the head. He codeveloped a pediatric craniofacial surgery program, combining both neurosurgery and plastic ...

GEORGE CARRUTHERS (1939– ) is an engineer and astrophysicist at the Naval Research Laboratory. He was the principal scientist responsible for the development of a special camera that made the trip to the moon aboard Apollo 16 in 1972. The camera was designed to study the earth’s upper atmosphere, interplanetary and interstellar space, stars, and ...

ALEXA CANADY (1950– ) became, at age thirty, the first African American woman neurosurgeon in the United States. She earned her M.D. degree cum laude from the University of Michigan, with a specialty in pediatric neurosurgery. Since being certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery in 1984, she has taught at the University of ...

RALPH J. BUNCHE (1904–1971), political scientist and a founder of the United Nations (UN), was a key UN diplomat for more than two decades. In 1950 Dr. Bunche became the first African American to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Earlier, while with the U.S. Department of State (1944–1946), he wrote the trusteeship portions of the ...

RANDOLPH W. BROMERY (1926– ), geologist and geophysicist, is president of Springfield College, Springfield, Massachusetts. As an educator he has held many distinguished posts at the University of Massachusetts, including chancellor, executive vice president, and commonwealth professor of geophysics. He was also chancellor of the Massachusetts Board of Regents of Higher Education. He has been ...