Anna Coble | |
---|---|
Born | 1936[1] |
Died | March 3, 2009[2] | (aged 72–73)
Education | Physics (1973) |
Alma mater | Howard University University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign |
Anna Jane Coble-Mullen[3] (1936 – March 3, 2009) was an American biophysicist. She was the first black woman to earn a doctorate in biophysics, and the first black woman to be hired at Howard University.
Coble was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she became interested in mathematics and physics.[4] Her father was a teacher at St. Augustine's University. Coble studied mathematics at Howard University, earning a bachelor's degree in 1958 and a master's degree in 1961.[5] After graduating, she taught physics at North Carolina A&T State University for four years.[5] Coble moved to University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign for her postgraduate studies, where she became an advocate for minority students and women.[5] She completed her PhD in 1973 under the supervision of Floyd Dunn.[5][6] She spent two years at Washington University in St. Louis studying the impact of high-intensity ultrasound on frogs.[5][7]
Coble moved back to Howard University, where she was the first black woman to be hired to the faculty.[5] She spent a summer finding houses for 200 black graduate students, forfeiting her own research.[5] During her time at Howard University there was a 30 - 40% cut to federal research grants.[5] She was part of the Writing Across the Curriculum faculty.[8] She was eventually promoted to Associate Professor.[9]
Coble was part of the formation of the National Society of Black Physicists.[10] She served on the board of the Ionia Whipper Home, a shelter for neglected teenage girls.[5] She developed educational resources for the National Academy of Sciences and the National Research Council.[11]
Coble worked with the American Association for the Advancement of Science and American Association of Physics Teachers to support underrepresented groups in science.[5] One project, the AAAS Black Church Project, brought hands-on science to young people in the Washington Area.[5] The Gamma Chapter of the District of Columbia of Phi Beta Kappa at Howard University established a Faculty Service Award in honor of Coble, who was the Chapter Secretary for multiple decades.[12]
Coble was married to Kirk P. Mullen. She was the stepdaughter of Cora Coble, and had three siblings: Mary Lee Coble, Cecil N. Coble, Jr. and Dennis Coble. Coble died on March 3, 2009.[4] She is buried at Lincoln Memorial Cemetery.[3]