ScienceMakers Toolkit Manual - The History Makers

Massie attended Iowa State University at the height of World War II; during this time, he was summoned
before the draft board. Massie was allowed to return to school, but he was assigned to the Manhattan Project,
the program that created the fi rst atomic bomb. After completing his Ph.D., Massie returned to Fisk University
to teach; it was there that he met his future wife, Gloria. Over the years, Massie held positions at Langston
University, Howard University, and the National Science Foundation. In 1963, Massie was named president of
the University of North Carolina Central.
In 1966, Massie became the fi rst African American professor at the U.S. Naval Academy; he then served as
chair of the chemistry department from 1977 to 1981. In 1994, Massie retired from the Naval Academy, though
he retained the title Professor Emeritus.
Massie was awarded with an NAACP Freedom Fund Award and a White House Initiative Lifetime Achievement
Award. He was also named one of the seventy-fi ve outstanding scientists in the country by Chemical and
Engineering News Magazine. Massie was also involved with the Smithsonian Institute and spent more than two
decades on the Maryland State Board for Community Colleges.
Samuel Massie passed away on April 10, 2005, three months after the passing of his wife, Gloria.
Discussion Questions
Personal:
1. What did you like best about listening to Dr. Massie?
2. What do you think Dr. Massie’s favorite quote means? What does this tell you about him?
3. Where was Dr. Massie born? Locate it on a map. How far away is this from where you live? What are
the names of his parents? Where did Dr. Massie attend high school? What do you suppose high school
was like for him?
4. How old are you? In what year was Dr. Massie your age? What was happening in the country that year?
What was happening in the world that year? What do you suppose his life was like when he was your
age?
5. Dr. Massie refl ected on his lab experiences at Iowa State University. “The laboratory for the white boys
was on the second fl oor next to the library. My laboratory was in the basement next to the rats. Separate
but equal.” What was the “separate but equal” attitude in the country that this exemplifi ed? How was it
challenged? When was it fi nally abolished? How do you think this segregation affected Dr. Massie’s
research? (See Washington Post article)
Science:
6. What do you think a chemist does? Would you like to be a chemist? Why?
7. If you were a chemist, what kinds of questions would you study?
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Chemistry