Nobel-winning astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar is among scientists from the black and minority ethnic (BME) communities whose lives and works will be celebrated at the University of Leicester throughout October, when Britain marks the Black History month.
The university’s Department of Physics and Astronomy is recognising one black and minority ethnic scientist each day with a summary of their life and work. The university attracts a large number of students from India every year.
“Featured men and women, whose lives and achievements will be shown on a screen in the foyer, will include mathematics pioneer Benjamin Banneker, astronaut Mae Jemison, astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, cosmologist Hiranya Peiris, and aerospace engineer Mary Jackson who’s story is told in the forthcoming movie Hidden Figures,” the university said.
Organisers said the idea was to raise awareness about the under-representation of black and minority ethnic people in the industry, and to celebrate those who have changed the way the universe and everything in it is viewed.
One of the goals of the respected international festival is to encourage more BME students to study and remain in academia.
The Black History Month is an annual celebration and recognition event observed in America, Canada, and the UK which remembers the important people and events in the history of black and minority ethnic people around the world.
It is celebrated each year in the United States, where it was first held in 1976, and Canada (1995) in February, and in Britain (1987) in October.
