Luis E. Miramontes, PhD

Dr. Luis Miramontes was born in Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico in 1925. As a child, he was raised by the women in his family, his mother and his aunts. One of his most notable influences was his aunt Maria Dolores Cardenas, who served in Pancho Villa’s army. She instilled a love of science in Luis and […]

Dr. Lloyd Noel Ferguson

Dr. Lloyd Noel Ferguson born in Oakland in 1918, was a chemist, entrepreneur, mentor, and STEM literacy advocate. Despite growing up in poverty, he had a strong interest in chemistry during his childhood. He created his first lab in his backyard and made several inventions, some of which he sold. After high school he worked in construction and as a porter for a railroad company to save money for college. He received a BS (1936) with honors and PhD (1940) in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, becoming the first person in his family to attend college and the first African American to obtain a Chemistry PhD at Berkeley.