About Magazine Podcasts Events
Museum Hours:Wednesday–Saturday, 10am–5pm

Scientific Biographies

Science is a human pursuit. Meet some of the people who have contributed to the history of chemistry, chemical engineering, and the life sciences.
Featured

Stephanie L. Kwolek

In a polymer research lab at DuPont, Kwolek discovered the super fiber known as Kevlar.

Learn More
Stephanie Kwolek at a polarizing microscope.
DuPont; gift of Stephanie Kwolek

Filter biographies

For Educators
  • Audio/Visual Content
  • Earth and Space Science
  • Environmental Literacy and Sustainability
  • Language Arts
  • Life Science
  • Physical Science
  • Primary Sources
  • Race and Science
  • Technology and Engineering
  • Women Scientists
  • World History
Objects of Study
  • Art
  • Business
  • Computers
  • Dyes
  • Education
  • Electricity
  • Enzymes
  • Explosives
  • Food
  • Gases
  • Genes
  • Instruments
  • Medicines
  • Metals
  • Microorganisms
  • Plants
  • Plastics
  • Pollution
  • Radiation
  • Textiles
Stories
  • Building Capacity
  • Controversies and Disputes
  • Environmental Matters
  • Mentorship
  • Military Science
  • Science and Activism
  • Science and the Nation
  • Science on the Move
  • Serendipity
  • Talking About Science
  • The Science of Health
  • Tools of Knowledge
  • Trailblazers
  • Working Together
group of noted scientists including William Astbury and Lawrence Bragg
William Astbury
1898 - 1961
Jacqueline K. Barton
b. 1952
A sepia-toned portrait of a woman with wavy hair, smiling, wearing a dark top.
Florence Ogilvy Bell
1913 - 2000
Paul Berg
1926 - 2023
Herbert Boyer in 2005.
Herbert W. Boyer
b. 1936
Stanley N. Cohen.
Stanley N. Cohen
b. 1935
James Watson and Francis Crick
Francis Crick
1916 - 2004
Hitchings and Elion in a lab wearing lab coats and smiling. They both hold black, blue, red, and white plastic models
Gertrude Elion
1918 - 1999
Rosalind Franklin
1920 - 1958
Gertrude Elion and George Hitchings in the laboratory, 1948.
George Hitchings
1905 - 1998
Undated photograph of Lee Riley
Lee W. Riley
1949 - 2022
Phillip Sharp
b. 1944
woman seated writing notes
Maxine Singer
1931 - 2024
color photo of a man with a baby on his shoulders
Calvin Ross Sperling
1957 - 1995
James Watson and Francis Crick
James Watson
1928 - 2025
Maurice Wilkins with X-ray crystallographic equipment about 1954.
Maurice Wilkins
1916 - 2004

About Scientific Biographies

Everything you need to know about our scientific biographies, including how to contact us, cite a biography, pitch a scientist, write a biography, or republish a biography.