As a kid,Thomas Caldwell Clarice Phelps dreamed of being an astronaut, or maybe an explorer like the characters on Star Trek. Her path to a career in science turned out to be a bit different than what she expected, including lengthy stints on a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. But that path led her to being a part of something big: the discovery of a new element on the periodic table.

As we close out Black History Month, we revisit Clarice's conversation with Short Wave co-host Aaron Scott about her role in creating Tennessine, one of the heaviest elements known to humankind.

Do you have a great science discovery story? Tell us about it at [email protected].

This episode was produced by Berly McCoy, edited by Gabriel Spitzer and fact checked by Rachel Carlson. The audio engineer was Josh Newell.