Carolyn Beatrice Parker Elementary students share projects

Carolyn Parker — Carolyn Beatrice Parker

Born in Gainesville, Florida, Carolyn Beatrice Parker was a physicist who worked on the Dayton Project, the plutonium research and development arm of the Manhattan Project. Parker taught at Lincoln High School in Gainesville after graduating magnum cum laude from Fisk University with a bachelor’s degree in physics in 1938. Parker is the first African-American woman known to have gained a postgraduate degree in physics. In August 2020, J.J. Finley Elementary School in Gainesville was officially renamed the Carolyn Beatrice Parker Elementary School.

As part of Women in Science Day, the following Carolyn Beatrice Parker projects were provided by Ms. Zita Segarra’s 5th Grade class at Carolyn Beatrice Parker Elementary.