Alright so this is the nano-medicine and medical acoustics laboratory.
So the research in this laboratory is a combination of biomedical acoustics, physics, material
science, nano-technology, nano-science, and sort of pharmacology.
My name is Tyrone Porter, I’m an associate professor in mechanical and biomedical engineering
here at Boston University.
So my home department is mechanical engineering.
I’m the only black faculty member in the department, and that's fairly reflective of the nation
as a whole, there are few African Americans in the sciences.
So I wanted to share just the experiences of being black at a predominantly white university,
and what that means on a day-to-day basis.
What I want to do is paint a picture, and maybe you can even get somebody to illustrate this.
So I want to paint a picture, and the picture is, I grew up in Detroit.
And Detroit when I was growing up, it was at least 75% black.
Everybody that I interacted with was black.
The school principal was black.
The mayor was black.
The police chief, he was black.
So I was surrounded by people who were excelling, who all looked like me.
Now let’s go to Seattle.
The University of Washington, where the school is only like maybe 3% to 5% black.
So that all the students in my class are now all white.
All my teachers are white.
Most of the staffing is white.
So for me, going from Detroit to Seattle, put yourself in that position, where you’re
the only person of the skin color surrounded by a completely different color,
a completely different culture.
A little overwhelming, right?
To the senses.
You basically feel out a place.
It’s like being a child and learning how to walk and talk and think, all over again.
There are days where it’s difficult.
There’s days where it’s easy, it’s enriching, it’s actually invigorating and exciting.
The other thing I will need from you is a table where we basically list all of the studies
where transcranial ultrasound frequency combined with a cavitation nuclei, which predominantly
will be bubbles, for mechanical ablation in the brain.
Does it cross my mind?
You know, today it doesn’t.
But when I first started, I was concerned that people felt that I was just a diversity
hire, that I was only here on the merits of my skin color, and not on the merits of my
intellectual abilities,
what I brought to the table research-wise.
If you’re white, that maybe never even crosses your mind.
And I felt like I had to prove something, not just as a scientist, but also as a scientist
who happens to be black.
Being in Boston as a scientist has been invigorating, it's been special.
What it has done for me is allowed me to pursue projects in so many different areas that I
probably would not have even considered before.
The Acoustical Society is my scientific home, the Acoustical Society of America.
I recently was elected to the college of fellows.
It’s almost like a stamp of approval.
As a scientist, it’s enthralling, because I know my colleagues and my peers value my
contributions.
As a black scientist, then I can share that with black students on campus.
Students are gonna look for role models.
They’re gonna look for mentors.
And in many cases, I remember when I was in college, I looked for people who looked like
me, I felt like could understand where I was coming from.
And since I’ve been here, I’ve been an advisor for the National Society of Black
Engineers, I’ve been an advisor for the Black Student Union, UMOJA.
We just talk about world politics, world events, we talk about leadership, talk about NSBE,
talk about life.
What’s next after BU?
There’s no class for that.
So I’m opening the door for other people of color.