Memory Lane: The chemistry teacher who built confidence in a future scientific leader

Over the course of my more than 50-year professional career, I have been fortunate to hold challenging and rewarding roles across the scientific spectrum. Two institutions, in particular, shaped both my scientific identity and my approach to leadership: the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), where I spent 45½ years serving at every research and leadership level, and Morgan State University, a historically Black college or university (HBCU) in Baltimore, where I have spent the past 8 years helping to advance its research mission.But long before those, and other, opportunities came my way, my path could have looked very different.I grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, in the 1950s and early 1960s, at a time when many young Black men were destined for lives in steel mills or coal mines. I was on track to become one of what we now call the “missing millions”—individuals with scientific potential who never enter the scientific workforce. Chemistry became my way forward, largely because of one extraordinary high school teacher: Frank Cook.In the 10th grade, Mr. Cook selected five of us and used our study-hall periods over the next 3 years to expose us to college-level chemistry. By the time I arrived at college, there was little in my first 2 years of coursework that I had not already encountered at A. H. Parker High School. More importantly, Mr. Cook did something far more consequential than teaching equations and reactions—he instilled confidence. I had never met a practicing chemist. Yet through his mentorship,