Percy Julian (1899-1975) writes to his student, Ray Fields Dawson (1911-2012) to express his pleasure at Dawson's excellent performance in organic chemistry. He notes upcoming student publications and hopes that next year he and Dawson can co-author a paper.

Julian is internationally recognized for his pioneering research in the development of cortisone, sex hormones, soybean proteins, and firefighting foam. Over the course of his career, Julian received more than 130 chemical patents and in 1973, became the second African American, following David Blackwell (1919-2010), to be elected to the National Academy of Sciences.