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Education
Career Ladder
Career Ladder: Joan Frye
Science fiction inspires physical chemistry professor turned NSF program director
by Alexandra A. Taylor
August 1, 2016
| A version of this story appeared in
Volume 94, Issue 31
1966
Learning science from Spock
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Frye first became interested in science watching science fiction shows on television. “I grew up in the era of ‘Star Trek,’ and I was fascinated by the science in that,” she recalls. “Those television characters were my childhood heroes.” Frye attended a small Catholic college prep school where she says “the science was hands-on long before people talked about hands-on.”
1974
Falling for physical chemistry
As a college freshman, Frye intended to major in biology and apply to medical school. When she started taking chemistry classes, however, her plans changed. “I fell in love with physical chemistry. It just really grabbed me by the throat.” Frye put herself through college, first with clerical work and then by working at Arco Chemical. She attended classes at night until she had saved enough money to attend Temple University full-time.
1980
Helping start an adviser’s lab
Frye attended grad school at the University of Chicago, where she worked with Takeshi Oka. Frye was his first grad student and helped him set up his lab from scratch, which she calls a fantastic experience. “If you want to go into academia, it’s really great training.” The small group size made research challenging given the group’s ambitious agenda, but Frye was excited to be working in laser spectroscopy. She later completed postdocs at the University of Technology Vienna as well as Brookhaven and Argonne national laboratories.
Credit: Courtesy of Joan Frye
1989
Research recruiting woes
Frye was recruited by Howard University and accepted the position because she wanted to help increase the number of African American Ph.D. chemists. She got tenure but left Howard after six years. “I was totally unprepared for the fact that a lot of students don’t necessarily want to go into physical chemistry. I was never able to get the number of grad students that I felt I absolutely needed to get the research done.”
1995
Shifting gears to government
Frye started working at the National Science Foundation during a sabbatical from Howard. She originally planned to return but changed her mind when a permanent position became available. She thought, “Maybe I can have more of an impact on outreach and supporting faculty members and chemists of color.” Frye currently serves as the acting deputy head of the Office of Integrative Activities, which fosters interdisciplinary research. “I never in a million years thought I’d wind up working here, but it has been an honor.”
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Chemical & Engineering News
ISSN 0009-2347
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