By Mauriah Allen

Theoretical Physicist Sylvester James Gates Jr. has been a driving force in physics for over three decades. 

He is a distinguished professor at the University of Maryland who has dedicated his career to advancing our understanding of the universe’s fundamental laws. With an unparalleled passion for teaching and research, Gates has become a leading figure in theoretical physics.

Gates attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to get his Ph.D. in physics after receiving degrees in mathematics and physics there. He was a member of the Maryland State Board of Education from 2009 to 2016, when he was awarded the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s 2006 Public Understanding of Science and Technology Award. 

Former President Barack Obama named him to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology in 2009. In recognition of his exceptional contributions to the field of physics, he was granted the National Medal of Science in 2013. He is known for his work on supersymmetry, supergravity, and superstring theory.  

Gates was introduced to the wonders of science at a very young age. He found inspiration in popular science fiction literature and was captivated by the idea of exploring the mysteries of the cosmos. 

“I was four years old when my mother took me to see a science-fiction movie called “Space Ways,”he said. “What I took from this movie was that science was the gateway to find an adventure.” 

Gates Jr. said he grew up unconventionally for an African-American male. He lived on several army bases growing up, where he got the experience of going to multiple schools.

“Living in Canada, mom dying at 11, six schools in six years, that’s not the usual trajectory for a young kid,” Gates Jr. said. 

Gates Jr. knew the feeling of wanting to succeed. He knew he was gifted and that the odds were stacked against his culture. 

He recalled when his father was studying math and science and he became inspired by his work. “…I remember watching him study for something called the general equality degree and I remember him studying trigonometry and some pre-calves, so we actually like math in my family,” he explained.

“I just got lucky because I had the benefit of having strong Black mentors,” he said.

Gates Jr. first discovered bias, barriers to entry, racial identity, and harassment when he was a young teenager. He moved from living on army bases to living in the Paramount District, a segregated neighborhood in Orlando, Florida. He attended Jones High School, his first experience in a segregated school. 

There he learned the basics of everything he knew from African-American scholars.

Following his introduction to physics in high school, he went to MIT with a goal for education. He recalls the first year at MIT as one that challenged him. 

“I’m the first person in my family to go to college, the first person from my high school to go MIT, and I was just trying to make it, but it was hard,” Gates Jr. said. 

However, in his sophomore year of college in 1970, he figured out his passion was teaching. 

Gates Jr. explained that he and some of his classmates started a tutoring program while studying at MIT. “..we called it the Black Student Tutorial Program and that’s when I figured out my love for teaching.” 

Gates Jr. has been a professor at the University of Maryland for 34 years.

Mary B. Sutton, an assistant to Gates Jr. recalled the impact he has had on her. “He has so many positive qualities that I try to learn from.  He is understanding, kind, thoughtful and loyal. These are all traits I admire and I try to emulate which, hopefully, makes me a better person,” she said. 

He recalls his journey in Maryland as one that allowed him to be himself. 

He was recruited in 1984. He was an assistant professor at MIT prior and then came to the university as a sociology professor with tenure.

“Tenure” was the most important part of Gates Jr.’s journey. He wanted to be able to do his work without having to worry about racial inequities. 

“There were people who don’t believe that African-Americans have the kind of intellectual capacity to do the stuff I wanted to do, I always said they were betting against me,” he said.

This is Gates Jr.’s 55th consecutive year of teaching. 

He explained that he has a true love for teaching. He changes with the students as they evolve. 

Cai Diggs, an environmental science and technology major, said that Professor Gates Jr. is a professor that you hope to get. “I’m so interested in his work with supersymmetry that I’m excited to take his course next year.”

“The biggest impacts [for teaching] come from my experience in the classrooms with students. It’s not that easy though. Perspectives change every generation,” Gates Jr. said. 

Gates Jr. knows what he wants everyone in the world to know about him. 

“[I want them to know] here was a black guy who lived a life in our world teaching for over half a century but [he] lived in a mathematical world where he was able to see things and solve problems that nobody else in the world can solve,” he said. 

Gates Jr.’s goals for his students change each year, however, there is one that always sticks. 

“What is science? I want to show this for the students that aren’t going to be scientists and what the misconceptions of science carry,” he said.

Featured Image: Photo by Mauriah Allen