Dr. Betty Wright Harris was a beautiful embodiment of Love. She was a daughter, an aunt, a wife, a mother, grandmother (Granny) and friend. She loved the Lord and life, and was a cherished member of Bethlehem Luthern for over 40 yrs.
She was a trailblazing American chemist and explosives expert renowned for her pioneering work in explosives chemistry, hazardous waste treatment, and environmental remediation. She spent more than two decades at the prestigious Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), where her research significantly advanced national security and military safety.
She was born on July 29, 1940, in rural Ouachita Parish, Monroe, Louisiana to Jake and Legertha Wright. Betty was the seventh of twelve children. Raised on a family farm along the Ouachita River, she exhibited brilliant academic prowess at an early age. With the encouragement of her mother, who was a schoolteacher, she enrolled in college at just 16 years old. She pursued her higher education primarily at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) . She met and married Alloyd Harris, a mathematics major, while she attended Southern University.
While raising three children Betty achieved the following academic milestones: Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Chemistry (with a minor in Mathematics) from Southern University in 1961 at the age of 19; Master of Science (M.S.) in Chemistry from Atlanta University (now Clark Atlanta University) in 1963; Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Chemistry from the University of New Mexico in 1975.
Before transitioning into high-level research, Dr. Harris spent a decade working as an assistant professor, teaching college-level mathematics and chemistry at Mississippi Valley State University, Southern University, and Colorado College. She also briefly worked for tech giant IBM and served as the Chief of Chemical Technology at Solar Turbine Incorporated in San Diego, California. Her landmark career transition occurred when she joined the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico.
As a research chemist. Dr. Harris’s most notable scientific breakthrough came in the mid-1980s. She developed an ingeniously simple and highly sensitive spot test to detect the presence of 1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene (TATB). Her invention utilized a specially formulated solvent that, when mixed with a contaminated sample, would immediately turn a distinct, bright orange color if TATB was present. This visual cue safely and rapidly alerted field agents to potential hazards. She received U.S. Patent 4,618,452 for this spot test in 1986. Today, her methodology continues to protect military personnel and is utilized by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to screen for nitroaromatic explosives.
Following her retirement from LANL in 2002, Dr. Harris worked as a certified document reviewer for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Classification. Holding a strict “Q” security clearance, she reviewed restricted and classified data to determine if documents could safely be released to the public.
Beyond the laboratory, Dr. Harris has been a passionate advocate for diversity in STEM. She established summer programs to recruit young women and people of color into the sciences. In a unique community effort, she also collaborated with the Girl Scouts of the USA to design their official chemistry merit badge. In recognition of her extraordinary accomplishments, she was awarded the New Mexico Governor’s Award for Outstanding Women in 1999.
Betty Harris is survived by her children Selita Nicole Harris-Lucas, Alloyd Avery Harris Jr and her grand-children Ashley Renee Lucas-Dewey, Autumn Lucas and Matthew Lucas, and her great grandchildren Samara, Isaiah, Jace and Xavion.
Betty will be joining her son Jeffrey, and her grandchildren Roderick James Lucas and Rochelle LeShawn Lucas-Roylance as one of the many we have loved, lost, but have not forgotten.
A service announcement will be made at a later for Dr. Harris to be honored at Bethlehem Lutheran Church of Los Alamos and interred at Guaje Pines Cemetery of Los Alamos.
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