Science & Engineering

Meet South Carolinians who have made significant contributions to the field of science and engineering.

Ronald McNair | Carolina Snaps

Video

South Carolina native Ronald McNair was the second African-American to go into space, and was part of the STS-51L crew that died when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after lift-off on...
Virtual Classroom: Astronaut Charles Duke

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For the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, Apollo 16 astronaut General Charles Duke sits down with students Jose Lopez, Jonathan Luines, and Morgan Swygert, to discuss his experiences as...
Burton, Edward Milby | South Carolina Public Radio

Audio

"B" is for Burton, Edward Milby (1898-1977). Museum director, naturalist, historian. As a young man, Burton had an avid interest in hunting and fishing that led to an interest in natural history. In...
Brodie, Laura | South Carolina Public Radio

Audio

"B" is for Brodie, Laura (1908-2004). Herpetologist. Born on a farm in Lexington County, Brodie began collecting snakes and frogs as a young child. By her teens she had converted an outbuilding into...
Mills, Robert | South Carolina Public Radio

Audio

"M" is for Mills, Robert (1781-1855). Architect, engineer, author. A native of Charleston, Mills studied architecture with James Hoban, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Latrobe. Settling in Philadelphia...
Charles Hard Townes | History of SC Slide Collection
Charles Hard Townes | History of SC Slide Collection
Episode 138

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Charles Hard Townes (1915-2015 ) is South Carolina's only Nobel Prize winner, an honor he was awarded for his development of the laser. This photograph shows him accepting that award in Stockholm...
Ron McNair | History of SC Slide Collection
Ron McNair | History of SC Slide Collection
Episode 97

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The "Challenger" astronaut Ron McNair (1951-1986) and Governor Richard Riley during a joint session of the South Carolina legislature in the House Chambers on April 11, 1984. McNair, an Air Force...
Dr. Ernest E. Just | Scientific SC

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Produced by Darren K. Woodland Jr., 2017 Knowitall.org Spring Semester Intern ​ Dr. Ernest E. Just was born in Charleston, S.C. in 1883. He was an African American biologist, teacher, and scholar who...
Thomas Cooper | History of SC Slide Collection
Thomas Cooper | History of SC Slide Collection
Episode 45

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A scientist and educator, born in Westminster, England, Thomas Cooper (1759-1839) attended Oxford but never graduated. An industrial career, in which he successfully used chlorine as a bleaching agent...