Marta Dark McNeese

Marta Dark McNeese is an American physicist and professor at Spelman College. She was the first African American woman to receive a bachelor's degree in physics from the University of Virginia. Her research focuses on laser interactions with biological tissues and electro-optical effects in biomolecules, and has applications in light-emitting devices, diodes for displays, and flexible light-emitting materials.

Early life and education McNeese grew up in Prince George's County, Maryland. She attended Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, Maryland. Her high school had a focus on science and math programming.

McNeese went on to attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for her doctoral studies. Her thesis was titled "The physical response of soft musculoskeletal tissues to short pulsed laser irradiation," and her doctoral advisor was Michael Stephen Feld. At MIT, she was part of the Spectroscopy Lab, worked in the Laser Biomedical Research Center, and was a teacher's assistant for an introductory physics course.