NOVA documentary about Percy Julian wins AAAS Science Journalism Award

African-American chemist was one of the 20th century's most influential scientists

The young Percy Julian in a laboratory. Click here for more information.

"Forgotten Genius," a two-hour documentary about the life of chemist Percy Julian, funded in part by the National Science Foundation (NSF) has received a prestigious award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The AAAS Science Journalism Award (SJA) recognizes outstanding reporting for a general audience and honors individuals for their coverage of the sciences, engineering and mathematics. Among this year's winners are the producers of "Forgotten Genius," part of the NOVA series produced by WGBH-TV and broadcast nationally on PBS.

The grandson of Alabama slaves, Julian received a doctorate in chemistry in 1931 and went on to successfully synthesize an alkaloid called physostigmine, which was used to treat glaucoma -- a disease responsible at the time for 15 percent of all cases of blindness in the United States. Hired by Glidden, a manufacturer of paints and other products, he became the first black chemist to direct a chemical research laboratory. In that role he filed more than 100 patents, working with the soybean plant to develop dozens of products, from water-based paints to paper coating to protein-rich foods.

Among Julian's most significant scientific accomplishments is his work with steroids. Using stigmasterol, a plant steroid produced by soybeans, Julian was able to produce the pregnancy hormone progesterone affordably and in bulk, an achievement that helped launch the steroid industry, whose products would eventually include cortisone and the birth control pill.

By 1953, Julian had decided to leave Glidden and form Julian Laboratories, where he continued in his scientific work while establishing his lab as a haven for other black chemists, hiring more of them than any other company in America. He later sold his business for $2.3 million, becoming one of the wealthiest black entrepreneurs in the nation.