Betty Harris (scientist)
{{short description|American explosives scientist (born 1940)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2014}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Betty W Harris
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| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1940|7|29}}
| birth_place = Monroe, Louisiana
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| field = Chemistry
| workplaces = Los Alamos National Laboratory
| alma_mater = Southern University
Atlanta University
University of New Mexico
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| known_for = Chemistry of explosives
| prizes =
}}
Betty Wright Harris (born July 29, 1940) is an American chemist. She is known for her work on the chemistry of explosives completed at Los Alamos National Laboratory. She patented a spot test for detecting 1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene (TATB) in the field, which is used by the Federal Department of Homeland Security to screen for nitroaromatic explosives.{{cite web|title=Alumnae in Science, Technology, and Health|url=https://www.cau.edu/news/womens-history-month.html|publisher=Clark Atlanta University|accessdate=2020-06-10}}{{cite book|title=The HistoryMakers ScienceMaker Toolkit|publisher=thehistorymakers.com|url=http://www.thehistorymakers.com/sites/production/files/Toolkit%20Vol%202-3.pdf|accessdate=2014-07-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819052406/http://www.thehistorymakers.com/sites/production/files/Toolkit%20Vol%202-3.pdf|archive-date=19 August 2016|url-status=dead}}
Early life and education
Harris was born on 29 July 1940{{cite web|title=Betty Harris|url=https://introductionsnecessary.com/podcast/betty-harris/|website=Introductions Necessary|publisher=Nine Hour Films|accessdate=23 March 2017|date=29 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190423201514/https://introductionsnecessary.com/podcast/betty-harris/|archive-date=23 April 2019|url-status=dead}} in Ouachita Parish, Monroe, Louisiana. She and her 11 siblings were raised on a farm by Henry Hudson "Jake" and Legertha Evelyn Thompson Wright.{{cite web|title=Betty W. Harris|url=http://www.cpnas.org/aahp/biographies/betty-w-harris.html|publisher=National Academies of Science|accessdate=2014-07-12}} She attended Union Central High School, enrolling at Southern University at the age of 16. She received her B.S. in chemistry with a minor in mathematics at the age of 19 and subsequently attended Atlanta University, receiving her M.S. degree.{{cite web|last1=Mahoney|first1=Eleanor|title=BETTY WRIGHT HARRIS (1940-)|date=27 January 2018 |url=https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/harris-betty-wright-1940/|accessdate=2020-06-10}}{{cite news|last1=Osborne|first1=Hannah|title=Black History Month 2014 Five Black Chemists who Changed the World Honoured|url=http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/black-history-month-2014-five-black-chemists-who-changed-world-honoured-1435102|accessdate=2014-07-12|work=International Business Times}} She taught as an assistant professor of chemistry and mathematics{{cite web|last1=Woodlief|first1=Mayona|title=Biography of Dr. Betty Harris|url=http://mayonawoodlief.wordpress.com/2013/04/29/biography-of-dr-betty-harris/|date=2013-04-29 |accessdate=2014-07-12}} at Mississippi Valley State University, Southern University and Colorado College.
Harris was awarded a PhD in chemistry from the University of New Mexico in 1975, with a dissertation titled "Reactions of 2-aminopyridine with picryl halides".{{cite book|last1=Harris|first1=Betsy Wright|title=Reactions of 2-aminopyridine with picryl halides|date=1975|publisher=University of New Mexico|url=https://unm.on.worldcat.org/oclc/2506840|accessdate=23 March 2017}}
Career
After gaining her PhD, she taught chemistry and mathematics at Mississippi Valley State University and Southern University.{{cite web|last1=Mahoney|first1=Eleanor|title=BETTY WRIGHT HARRIS (1940-)|date=27 January 2018 |url=https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/harris-betty-wright-1940/|accessdate=2020-06-10}} Harris subsequently moved to do research at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where she worked in the areas of hazardous waste treatment and environmental remediation as well as explosives chemistry. Areas of focus included explosives detection, safing liquids, synthesis and characterization of insensitive high explosives and sensitivity of weathered high explosives.{{cite web|title=Featured Inventors: Dr. Betty Harris|url=http://blackinventions.org/featuredinventors.htm|publisher=International Black Inventions Museum|accessdate=2014-07-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140311041428/http://blackinventions.org/featuredinventors.htm|archive-date=11 March 2014|url-status=dead}} In addition to her research, she has worked in outreach to young people, including working with the Girl Scouts in developing a badge based on chemistry.
During a leave of absence from LANL, Harris was the chief of chemical technology for Solar Turbine Inc., where she managed the technical laboratories and investigated cold-end corrosion of super alloys, which was caused by sulfuric acid and soot in gas turbine engines. For the last eleven years of Harris's career, she worked at the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Classification as a certified document reviewer.
Awards
She has received the New Mexico Governor's Trailblazer Award,{{cite web|title=Dr. Betty Harris|url=http://www.black-inventor.com/Dr-Betty-Harris.asp|publisher=Famous Black Inventions|accessdate=2014-07-12}} and is recognized as a distinguished African American Scientist by the National Academy of Sciences. She is a member of Women in Science and Engineering and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and served as President of the New Mexico Business and Professional Women's Organization.{{cite web|last1=Mahoney|first1=Eleanor|title=BETTY WRIGHT HARRIS (1940-)|date=27 January 2018 |url=https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/harris-betty-wright-1940/|accessdate=2020-06-10}} She is a 50-year member of the American Chemical Society.
Personal life
Patent
- Harris, {{US patent|4618452}}, "Spot test for 1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene, TATB" {{ cite patent
| country = US
| number = 4618452
| status = patent
| title = Spot test for 1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene, TATB
| pubdate = November 29, 1984
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| inventor = Dr. Betty Harris
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}}
References
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External links
- [http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/newsreleases/2014/february/five-black-chemists-who-changed-the-world.html] ACS and NOBCChE video of "Five black chemists who changed the world"
- [http://www.cpnas.org/aahp/biographies/betty-w-harris.html
[2] ] Betty W. Harris biography - [https://www.black-inventor.com/dr-betty-harris
[3] ] Featured Inventors: Dr. Betty Harris - [https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/harris-betty-wright-1940/
[4] ] Betty Wright Harris - [https://face2faceafrica.com/article/meet-dr-betty-wright-harris-chemist-invented-way-test-explosives
[5] ] Meet Dr Betty Wright Harris, inventor of test that detects explosives
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Category:African-American chemists
Category:Academics from Louisiana
Category:Los Alamos National Laboratory personnel
Category:Southern University alumni
Category:Clark Atlanta University alumni
Category:People from Monroe, Louisiana
Category:University of New Mexico alumni
Category:21st-century African-American academics
Category:21st-century American academics
Category:20th-century African-American academics