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No. 98-116 July 9, 1998
Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Shirley Ann Jackson will be inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame along with 20 other distinguished American women at a ceremony in Seneca Falls, N.Y. on Saturday. Among others to be honored will be Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, poet Maya Angelou, and astronaut Shannon Lucid. The ceremony commemorates the 150th anniversary of the first Women's Rights Convention.
The Chairman was selected based on her significant contributions to science, to the progress and freedom of women and minorities, and the enduring value of her achievements in business, education, and government..
Dr. Jackson was appointed Chairman of the NRC by President Bill Clinton July 1, 1995 and is the principal executive officer and official spokesman for the agency. The NRC, an independent Federal agency of about 3,000 employees, is responsible for the protection of public health and safety in the commercial uses of nuclear materials, including the production of nuclear energy.
A native of Washington, D.C., Dr. Jackson has achieved a number of firsts in her career. She is the first African-American woman to receive a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); she is the first African-American to serve on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; and she is both the first woman and the first African-American to serve as the Chairman of the NRC.
Chairman Jackson earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physics and a Ph.D. in theoretical elementary particle physics, both from MIT. She holds five honorary doctoral degrees from other distinguished universities and colleges. Highlights of her career include conducting research in theoretical physics at AT&T Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey, Professor of Physics at Rutgers University in Piscataway, N.J., and serving on the boards of directors of several notable businesses in New Jersey, including a subsidiary organization of Public Service Electric and Gas Company, and as a Life Member of the M.I.T. Corporation (Board of Trustees) since 1992.
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