Black scientist helps discover the 117th element of the Periodic Table

Despite playing a crucial role on a team that made a successful discovery, this Black woman scientist was left out of the celebration.
According to news sources it was found that Clarice Phelps was a contributor to the finding that completed square 117 on the periodic table, introducing tennesine (Ts), the second heaviest known element on Earth.
After months of purifying the element berkelium in Phelps’ science lab, the element, which needed to have 117 protons in its core, was “bombarded” with calcium by collaborators in Germany and Russia in order to create a film.
In 2012, the element, named after its groundwork in Tennessee, was declared a success and officially recognized as part of the periodic table of elements by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry four years later.
”For the first eighteen years of my professional life, I was the sole African American female in my industry. In my division when I was in the Navy, I was the only Black girl.” Phelps recalled that when she entered her lab afterwards, she was the only Black woman in the whole facility, and to her surprise, they initially thought she was the janitor.
She added that it was isolating. You feel a sense of responsibility to break down racial stereotypes, especially in nuclear and radiochemistry, as a representative of your race.
The lab’s gala celebrating the tennessine element left Phelps off the guest list, which she shared. Despite being let in by a supervisor, she discovered that there was no place card bearing her name. The plaque listed scientists without Phelps’ name included in the exclusion.
The Oak Ridge National Laboratory staff, who contributed to the project, had the error on the plaque reportedly corrected by the lab.
After graduating with her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Tennessee State University, Phelps enlisted in the U.S. Navy’s Nuclear Power School. As an engineering laboratory technician aboard the USS Ronald Reagan, she utilized her career experience to serve on the board of Yo-STEM, a non-profit dedicated to delivering STEM education to underserved communities, where she currently holds the role of vice president.