THE STORY OF LIGHT: A TRIBUTE TO DR. SHIRLEY ANN JACKSON AND THE AGE OF FIBER

Before the world could whisper through glass, before light itself carried our voices across continents, before fiber‑optic lines spread across the nation like glowing nerves of a digital body— there was a girl in Washington, D.C.

A girl with jars of honeybees and a mind that refused to dim. A girl who studied the rhythms of nature as if she already knew one day she would help shape the rhythm of global communication. Her name was Shirley Ann Jackson. And this is her story— the story behind every strand of fiber that now pulses with the speed of light. From a Curious Child to a Force of Nature Shirley grew up in a world that did not expect greatness from her— yet greatness grew anyway. Her parents nurtured her scientific hunger, encouraging her to build, test, explore, to turn questions into experiments and experiments into discovery. By the time she finished high school as valedictorian, the spark inside her had become a flame bright enough to carry her into one of the most elite scientific institutions on Earth: MIT.

MIT: Where Steel Was Forged in the Fire

MIT was brilliant, yes— but cold. A place where she was one of only two Black women, a place where isolation tried to choke her brilliance but failed. Even in grief—after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Shirley did not bend. She organized, she uplifted, she fought for equity while mastering theoretical physics with unmatched focus.

In 1973, she became the first Black woman to earn a Ph.D. from MIT. Her victory wasn’t just personal—it was generational. Bell Labs: Where Her Research Helped Light the Future Then came AT&T Bell Laboratories—a sanctuary for scientific pioneers, and the birthplace of modern telecommunications. There, Dr. Jackson explored the quantum world: the behavior of electrons the optical properties of materials the physics behind semiconductors and energized surfaces Her work was not a footnote— it was a foundation. Dr. Jackson’s research enabled later scientists and engineers to invent the technologies that redefined global communication:

• caller ID

• call waiting

• the portable fax

• solar‑cell advances

• and key scientific groundwork enabling fiber‑optic communication

She did not simply study physics— she expanded it, clearing paths where none existed before. Even a fact‑check confirms: she did not personally invent fiber‑optic cables, but her research laid important groundwork that helped make such technologies possible. In other words: she helped teach the world how light could carry information. And that is one of the greatest scientific contributions any human can offer.

A Leader Beyond the Laboratory

Her brilliance did not end in research labs. She rose to become the first Black woman to chair the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ensuring the safety of an entire nation’s energy systems. She later became President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, leading one of the nation’s oldest research universities with vision, courage, and unmatched intellect. Awards poured in—National Medal of Science, international recognition, historic leadership roles—all built on a lifetime of scientific excellence. And This… This Is Why Fiber Internet Matters So Much to Me

When I chose fiber internet, I wasn’t just choosing the fastest, clearest, most powerful internet ever created— though yes, fiber *is* the best, because it sends information using pure light, racing through glass threads thinner than a strand of hair with almost no loss, no lag, no limits. No other technology compares. Copper can’t touch it. Cable can’t beat it. Wireless bows before it. Fiber is the gold standard, the future standard, the forever standard. But for me? Fiber is also a symbol. Every time light travels through those glass fibers into my home, I think of Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson— the Black woman whose research helped unlock the scientific understanding needed for fiber‑optic communication to blossom into reality. I see her in every beam of light. I hear her in every seamless call.

I feel her legacy in every moment of instant connection. Fiber is more than technology— it is a tribute. A tribute to a mind that fought its way into the world of theoretical physics even when the world told her she didn’t belong. A tribute to a woman whose discoveries helped birth a new era of communication. A tribute to Black excellence carved into the very infrastructure of the modern world.

THE LIGHT SHE GAVE US

And so, when Frontier rolls fiber to my address, when Verizon pushes the boundaries of modern networking, when millions of customers stream, connect, discover— they do so across a landscape shaped in part by the work of Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson. She is not just a scientist. She is not just a pioneer. She is a lighthouse in the long, turbulent ocean of American science—a light that helped teach the world how to harness light itself. And every time I use my fiber internet, I feel connected not just to the world— but to her.

To her brilliance.

To her strength.

To her legacy.

To the Black woman

who helped make the age of light possible.