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A black woman developed protective eyewear and research publications to improve aviation safety.

Dr. Gloria Twine Chisum was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma in 1930. She earned her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in psychology from Howard University. In 1960, she earned her PhD in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. Her dissertation was titled “Transposition as a Function of the Number of Test Trials.”

After earning her Ph.D., she worked for the U.S. Navy as a research psychologist in the Air Vehicle and Crew Systems Technology Department in Warminster, Pennsylvania. Head of the Vision Research Laboratory.

In the 1970s, Dr. Chisum worked on military research for jet pilots. She made an assessment on how long a pilot in a high-performance aircraft can safely control the plane without vision.  Discovering that pilots could fly three to five seconds in a critical maneuver.

Glare from bright light, sharp turns, and nuclear explosions is harmful to pilot’s eyes. To remedy this problem Dr. Chisum developed protective eyewear for pilots in extreme conditions.

On March 19^th, 1975, she authored the Laboratory Assessment of the AN/PVS-5 Night Vision Goggle. It is a binocular designed for low-light level viewing. It can be used either as a hand-held binocular or head-mounted mode. In addition, she wrote technical publications about laser eye protection and aviation safety research.

Dr. Chisum was married to physician Melvin “Jack” Chisum. He passed away on October 22, 2014, at the age of 92.

For her numerous contributions to science, psychology, and the government, Dr. Chisum was awarded the Navy Superior Civilian Service award, and Navy Meritorious Civilian service award. In addition, she was awarded the Aerospace Medical Association’s Raymond F. Longacre Award, and the Scientific Achievement Award.

Dr. Chisum retired in 1990. Since then, she has been an active leader in many civic and professional organizations.

Cartoon Character is created by Sterling Haynes.