LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION honoring Shirley Ann Jackson, Ph.D. upon the
occasion of her designation as recipient of the National Medal of
Science by Albany Medical Center on February 2, 2016

WHEREAS, It is incumbent upon the people of the State of New York to
recognize and acknowledge those within our midst who have made signif-
icant contributions to the quality of life therein; and
WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is justly proud to honor Shirley Ann
Jackson, Ph.D. upon the occasion of her designation as recipient of the
National Medal of Science by Albany Medical Center to be celebrated on
Tuesday, February 2, 2016, at the Fort Orange Club, Albany, New York;
and
WHEREAS, Born on August 5, 1946, in Washington, DC to Beatrice and
George Jackson, Shirley Ann Jackson graduated from Roosevelt High School
as valedictorian in 1964; she began classes at MIT that same year,
during which time she did volunteer work at Boston City Hospital and
tutored students at the Roxbury YMCA; and
WHEREAS, Shirley Ann Jackson earned her bachelor's degree in 1968,
writing her thesis on solid-state physics, a subject then in the fore-
front of theoretical physics; she continued her education at MIT, study-
ing elementary particle theory for her Ph.D., which she completed in
1973; and
WHEREAS, Furthermore, her thesis, "The Study of a Multiperipheral
Model with Continued Cross-Channel Unitarity," was subsequently
published in the Annals of Physics in 1975; and
WHEREAS, As a postdoctoral student of subatomic particles during the
1970s, Shirley Ann Jackson studied and conducted research at a number of
prestigious physics laboratories in both the United States and Europe;
and
WHEREAS, Shirley Ann Jackson began her illustrious career as a
research associate at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Bata-
via, Illinois, and in 1974, she became visiting scientist at the accel-
erator lab at the European Center for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Swit-
zerland; and
WHEREAS, In 1976 and 1977, Shirley Ann Jackson both lectured in phys-
ics at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center and became a visiting
scientist at the Aspen Center for Physics; she also joined the Theore-
tical Physics Research Department at AT&T Bell Laboratories in 1976; and
WHEREAS, Two years later, Shirley Ann Jackson became part of the Scat-
tering and Low Energy Physics Research Department, then in 1988, she
moved to the Solid State and Quantum Physics Research Department; and
WHEREAS, In her extensive research, Shirley Ann Jackson has made
contributions to the knowledge of such areas as charged density waves in
layered compounds, polaronic aspects of electrons in the surface of
liquid helium films, and optical and electronic properties of semicon-
ductor strained-layer superlattices; on these topics and others she has
prepared or collaborated on more than 100 scientific articles; and
WHEREAS, From 1980 to 1982, Shirley Ann Jackson served as NSBP Presi-
dent; she was elected to the American Physical Society and selected a
CIBA-GEIGY Exceptional Black Scientist; in 1985, Governor Thomas Kean
appointed her to the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology;
and
WHEREAS, Widely respected within the science community, Shirley Ann
Jackson was awarded the Thomas Alva Edison Science Award for her
contributions to physics and for the promotion of science in the early
1990s by Governor James Florio; and

WHEREAS, Shirley Ann Jackson is an active voice in numerous committees
of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Association for the
Advancement of Science, and the National Science Foundation, where her
aim has been to actively promote women in science; and
WHEREAS, Professor of Physics at Rutgers University from 1976 to 1991,
Shirley Ann Jackson was also appointed head of the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission by President Bill Clinton in 1995; four years later she
became the first female and the first African-American President of
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the esteemed position she continues to
hold today; and
WHEREAS, Shirley Ann Jackson was elected as a member of the National
Academy of Engineers (NAE) in 2001, and in December of 2002, she was
elected president of the American Association for the Advancement of
Science, the world's largest general scientific society and publisher of
the journal; in addition, SCIENCE SPECTRUM MAGAZINE and Career Communi-
cations Group, Inc. selected her as one of the "50 Most Important Blacks
in Research Science"; and
WHEREAS, With her throughout have been her husband and her son, both
of whom feel privileged to be a part of her life and rejoice in her
achievements; and
WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body that those who
enhance the quality of life in their community and have shown a long and
sustained commitment to the maintenance of high standards in their
profession, certainly have earned the recognition and applause of all
the citizens of this great Empire State; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
honor Shirley Ann Jackson, Ph.D. upon the occasion of her designation as
recipient of the National Medal of Science by Albany Medical Center on
February 2, 2016; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to Shirley Ann Jackson, Ph.D.