In
1995, President Clinton appointed Dr. Shirley Jackson, chairman of the five-person
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Her task is to manage a $500 million budget
and 3,000 employees while ensuring the safety of the 108 nuclear power plants
that provide 20% of our nation's electricity. This is an awesome responsibility
for which she has been preparing all of her life.
Shirley Jackson was born in
Washington, D.C., and as a young girl developed a keen interest in how and why
things worked. Her parents supported her efforts, and she became a successful
student. She graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School in Washington, D.C.
with an A average and was class valedictorian.
Dr. Jackson calls
her parents,
"my ultimate role models ..."
In her freshman year at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) she was the only black woman of
43 women in a class of 900. At first she was ignored until it became apparent
that she was a serious and brilliant student and went on to earn her bachelor's
and master's degrees in physics. In 1973, she became the first African-American
woman to receive a doctorate from MIT - in any subject.
Dr. Jackson spent more than
15 years conducting research in theoretical, solid state, quantum, and optical
physics at Bell Laboratories. She conducted research at the Fermi National Accelerator
Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois and was also a visiting scientist at the European
Organization for Nuclear Research in Geneva, Switzerland.
For several years, Dr. Jackson
was a physics professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey. She also has had
a unique opportunity to learn how businesses operate, by serving as a life member
of the MIT Board of Trustees, as a founding member of the New Jersey Commission
on Science and Technology, and as a member of the board of directors for CoreStates
New Jersey National Bank and several utility companies.
Dr. Jackson calls her parents,
"my ultimate role models" and stresses the importance of parental involvement.
My father always told me, "Aim for the stars so that you can at least reach
the tree tops." Dr. Jackson states, "The best thing parents can do for their
children is to provide the environment and opportunity for their children to
find themselves and pursue their interests -- whether in science, the humanities,
or some other field.
