Gray said he often has found himself in such situations, citing his roles as one of, if not the first, appointed Black company commander for his home company — Golf Company, the company of Charles Foster, the first Black graduate of The Citadel — while at The Citadel and becoming the first recipient of Graduate Student Award for Academic Excellence and Leadership within his master’s degree program.

Gray, who came to Virginia Tech in 2021, never has aspired to be a pioneer just because of his skin color.

“I am very proud to be Black, and I am even more proud of the work that I do to mentor and guide the next generation of Black scientists because of the challenges that Black scientists face,” Gray said. “In all my efforts, I hope that my reputation and value to the field are not simply relegated to my identity as a Black man.

“While it is important, I have found people can put you in a box and your value is seen only in your identity rather than your scientific contribution. I hope that when I enter spaces, people can value that I am a Black scientist and acknowledge my scientific contributions. That truly matters to me.”

According to the National Science Foundation and Pew Research Center, Black individuals constitute approximately 9 percent of the STEM workforce.

To help the next generation, Gray teaches ecology, environmental toxicology, and pond ecology courses at Virginia Tech, and he oversees 12 undergraduate research positions in his lab to introduce students to research.

“That’s probably the one study that I’m itching to do,” Gray admitted. “It’s high risk, high reward, but it can change the game and how we understand human health impacts from drinking water-associated pollutants.”

Gray knows that there will be other projects, questions to be answered and problems to be solved. He admits to having an insatiable curiosity, even keeping a notepad next to his nightstand and jotting down ideas or questions that come to him in the middle of the night. Then he wakes up in the morning, energized and ready to begin the quest to help the world around him.

For him, this is the beauty of science.

“I remind myself this is still all a gift,” Gray said. “It’s a privilege to be a scientist. I teach that in my lab. To be a scientist, we’re servants in the world. Just like public servants, this is our job, and it’s a privilege that we get to serve the world.”

Original study: DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0309377

Gray said he often has found himself in such situations, citing his roles as one of, if not the first, appointed Black company commander for his home company — Golf Company, the company of Charles Foster, the first Black graduate of The Citadel — while at The Citadel and becoming the first recipient of Graduate Student Award for Academic Excellence and Leadership within his master’s degree program.

Gray, who came to Virginia Tech in 2021, never has aspired to be a pioneer just because of his skin color.

“I am very proud to be Black, and I am even more proud of the work that I do to mentor and guide the next generation of Black scientists because of the challenges that Black scientists face,” Gray said. “In all my efforts, I hope that my reputation and value to the field are not simply relegated to my identity as a Black man.

“While it is important, I have found people can put you in a box and your value is seen only in your identity rather than your scientific contribution. I hope that when I enter spaces, people can value that I am a Black scientist and acknowledge my scientific contributions. That truly matters to me.”

According to the National Science Foundation and Pew Research Center, Black individuals constitute approximately 9 percent of the STEM workforce.

To help the next generation, Gray teaches ecology, environmental toxicology, and pond ecology courses at Virginia Tech, and he oversees 12 undergraduate research positions in his lab to introduce students to research.

“That’s probably the one study that I’m itching to do,” Gray admitted. “It’s high risk, high reward, but it can change the game and how we understand human health impacts from drinking water-associated pollutants.”

Gray knows that there will be other projects, questions to be answered and problems to be solved. He admits to having an insatiable curiosity, even keeping a notepad next to his nightstand and jotting down ideas or questions that come to him in the middle of the night. Then he wakes up in the morning, energized and ready to begin the quest to help the world around him.

For him, this is the beauty of science.

“I remind myself this is still all a gift,” Gray said. “It’s a privilege to be a scientist. I teach that in my lab. To be a scientist, we’re servants in the world. Just like public servants, this is our job, and it’s a privilege that we get to serve the world.”

Original study: DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0309377