Born: 1924
Birthplace: Minden, Louisiana
Dorothy V. McClendon: Microbiologist
Dorothy McClendon has been a professional microbiologist for twenty-four years. She received a Bachelor of Science in Biology in 1948 from Tennessee A&I State University. She studies microorganisms, living things too tiny to be seen by the naked eye, such as bacteria and fungi. Some microorganisms are harmful to the body and can cause disease by destroying cells in the body. Others can contaminate liquids and solid materials and cause them to spoil or decay.
Ms. McClendon coordinates microbial research for the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Command (TACOM) in Warren, Michigan. As a microbiologist, she develops methods to prevent microorganisms from contaminating the fuel and deteriorating military storage material. Currently, she is developing a fungicide, a chemical which will protect storage materials and not harm the people who use them.
She is a native of Minden, Louisiana, but she moved to Detroit, Michigan in her early teens. There she attended Cass Technical High School where her interest in science developed. In college, she majored in biology at Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial State University, and took advanced science courses at Wayne State University, University of Detroit and Purdue University. Before becoming an industrial microbiologist for the Army, she taught in the public schools in Phoenix, Arizona and Eldorado, Arkansas. (Carwell)
Memberships and Awards
Michigan Society of Professional Engineers
Detroit Central Business District Association
Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial State University
Bibliography:
Blacks in Science: Astrophysicist to Zoologist.
Hattie Carwell. (Hicksville, N.Y.: Exposition Press), 1977. p. 44
Magazine Articles
"Military Microbiologist." Ebony.
(Chicago, IL: Johnson Publishing Co.), 30(1) (November, 1974), p. 7, includes picture.
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