Teaching Guide: Dr. Elmer Imes and Spectroscopy
Students will learn about Elmer Imes’s experimental work on spectroscopy and how it was a turning point in modern applied physics.
Portrait of Elmer Imes working in a laboratory Fisk University, Nashville, courtesy AIP Emilio Segre Visual Archives
In this lesson plan, students will learn about Dr. Elmer Imes, the second African-American to receive a Ph.D. in physics in 1918 and a physics professor at Fisk University. Students will learn about Imes’ experimental work on spectroscopy and how it was a turning point in modern applied physics. Afterward, students will learn about the principles of spectroscopy. This lesson explores Imes’ personal history and scientific work in spectroscopy, and provides a hands-on activity demonstrating refraction and spectra. Note: this lesson works very well alongside the AIP Teaching Guide “Physicist Activist: Dr. Elmer Imes and the Civil Rights Case of Juliette Derricotte,” which explores a historical tragedy that Elmer Imes became involved in.
Grade level(s): 9-12
Guide subjects: History, Physics
Minority Group(s): African-American
In-class time: 60-80 minutes
Prep time: 15-20 minutes
Technology Requirements: Student web access not required, Audio/Video optional
Common Core Standards: History/Social Studies, Science & Technical Subjects
Next Generation Science Standards: Physical sciences, Matter and Its Interactions, Waves and Their Application in Technologies for Information Transfer
