Quick quote from amazing physicist Shirley Ann Jackson (quoting her father): "Aim for the stars so that you can reach the treetops, and at least you'll get off the ground."

Shirley Ann Jackson -- the first black woman to earn a doctorate from MIT (1973) -- did far more than merely reach the treetops: she went to the heart of matter itself. Starting off at MIT in 1964 after graduating as Valedictorian of her high school earlier that year, Jackson decided to attend the famed institution rather than go to another one with a higher black population (she was accepted at Brown, U of Chicago and Harvard), saying she wanted to encourage other black students do the same. 

Dr. Jackson has a lifetime of awards, distinctions and special qualifications, and is currently president of Renssealaer Polytechnic, and has served in both the Clinton and Obama administrations.