Percy Lavon Julian Prize

Percy Lavon Julian was born on April 11, 1899, in Montgomery, Alabama. Julian, the son of a railway mail clerk and the grandson of enslaved people, attended segregated schools in Montgomery before he was accepted to DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. Julian faced racial obstacles throughout his education but excelled academically, eventually earning a master's degree from Harvard in 1923 and a Ph.D. from the University of Vienna. Julian’s groundbreaking work in synthesizing steroids, including cortisone, and his innovations in creating affordable synthetic drugs greatly impacted medical treatments for conditions like arthritis.

Julian became notable for his synthesis of physostigmine, a drug used to treat glaucoma, and his work with soy-based compounds. As one of the first Black chemists in the American chemical industry, he also held a senior position at Glidden Company, where he developed soy-based products, including a fire-retardant foam widely used during World War II. Julian is also remembered for his significant work on progesterone and cortisone. Julian remained at Glidden until 1954, when he founded his own company, Julian Laboratories, which he eventually sold in 1961 for $2.3 million to Smith, Kline and Upjohn pharmaceutical companies.  In 1964, he organized his own research institute where he continued his experimental work and consulted for chemical companies. In 1973, Julian was inducted into the National Academy of Sciences, as only the second African American to achieve this honor.

Throughout his life he was socially active in groups seeking to advance conditions for African Americans, helping to found the Legal Defense and Educational Fund of Chicago and serving on the boards of several other organizations and universities. He was also an active as a fund-raiser for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People  for their project to sue to enforce civil rights legislation. Read more via CCB's profile of Percy Lavon Julian.

Prize Lecturers

2024 Paula T. Hammond