physics

Mack Gipson

Mack Gipson is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Mack Gipson rather than just read about it. In short: Mack Gipson Jr. (September 15, 1931 – March 10, 1995) was an American geologist who became the second African-American man to obtain a Ph.D. in geology, Dr.James Christopher achieved the distinction first, Ohio state 1959, and is still alive today at 100 years old.

Key takeaways

Mack Gipson belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Mack Gipson to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Mack Gipson from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Mack Gipson Jr. (September 15, 1931 – March 10, 1995) was an American geologist who became the second African-American man to obtain a Ph.D. in geology, Dr.James Christopher achieved the distinction first, Ohio state 1959, and is still alive today at 100 years old. The first female, African-American geologist to earn a PhD in the US was Marguerite Williams, who earned her degree in 1942. Gipson's career spanned decades in the petroleum industry as well as decades in academia.

Biography Gipson was born in Trenton, South Carolina, on [September 15, 1931" and grew up on his grandmother's farm. He persuaded his grandmother to move to Augusta, Georgia, so that he could complete high school. Gipson became interested in science when he studied geology in junior high school and read The Earth and Life Upon It. He studied science and mathematics at nearby Paine College, financed initially by his mother, who borrowed money to get him started. Gipson also worked part-time while in college and received his Bachelor of Science degree in 1953. Mack was drafted into the U.S. Army in June, 1954, and served as a radio technician during his service from 1954 to 1956. During this time, he began to consider a career as a geologist because "working outdoors as a field geologist interested him more than being confined to classroom or laboratory". He went on to attend the University of Chicago and received his Master of Science degree in 1961. He then began his Ph.D. research on the deep sedimentary rocks near the central Illinois coal fields. Gipson received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in Geology in 1963. Throughout his career Gipson worked in a number of different jobs. For example, he served as the director of a special program for high school scientists, a project of the National Science Foundation. He also worked for several oil corporations such as Exxon, ERCO Industries, the Aminoil Company, and Phillips Petroleum. Gipson started the geology department at Virginia State College (now called Virginia State University). After a decade of working in industry, Gibson returned to teaching in 1986 and joined the faculty of the University of South Carolina as a professor of geology. Gipson was the founding advisor of the National Association of Black Geologists and Geophysicists (NABGG). in 1980, Gipson hosted a successful Ice Breaker/ Planning Session at his home for geologists of the Houston region looking for a network with other minority professionals in geoscience. The room was full of geoscience professionals with enthusiasm and energy. This excitement led to a series of meetings and the establishment of the NABGG in 1981. Through the years, the NABGG has supported minorities in geosciences and been locally active in schools and professional meetings. The organization's name was changed to the National Association of Black Geoscientists (NABG) in 2014.

Research Gipson's early research was focused on shale deposits—with specific interest in clay mineralogy and its relationship to shale porosity and burial depths, as well as the development of improved methods for studying clay mineralogy. He was the first to identify large-scale faceted peaks in the equatorial region of Mars from images returned by the Mariner 9. His later research was focused mostly on collaborations studying potential petroleum reservoirs.

Honors and awards Gipson served as a member of the National Academy of Sciences Science Study Group on Geological Training and Research in the Republic of Zaire in 1972. In the mid-1990s, U. S. Secretary of Energy Hazel B. O'Leary appointed Gipson to the National Petroleum Council (US). Gipson received many honors during his career. Among other awards, he was honored by Paine College with the Alumni Achievement Award, the President's Award, and the Presidential Citation. A teacher for many years, he was recognized as a member of the Outstanding Educators of America. The School of the Earth, Ocean and Environment of the University of South Carolina offers the Mack Gipson scholarship to students from groups traditionally under-represented in the Geosciences in honor of for Gipson. The academic advising center at Paine College is named the Mack Gipson Jr., Tutorial and Enrichment Center.

Personal life Gipson married Alma Gadison in 1956 after being discharged from the army. They had 4 children together. Gipson also left behind an older sister by the name of Margaree Gipson Moore of Augusta, GA.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Mack Gipson

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Mack Gipson claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Mack Gipson before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Mack Gipson ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Mack Gipson

In research: Mack Gipson appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Mack Gipson in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Mack Gipson is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1931 births, 1995 deaths, 20th-century African-American scientists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Mack Gipson outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Mack Gipson” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Mack Gipson in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Mack Gipson means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Mack Gipson out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mack Gipson in simple terms?

Why does Mack Gipson matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Mack Gipson?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Mack Gipson.