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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.
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Stephanie L. Kwolek

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

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

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group of noted scientists including William Astbury and Lawrence Bragg
William Astbury
1898 - 1961
A mannequin wearing an 18th-century style blue dress with lace and elaborate hairstyle.
Blue Silk Dress
ca. 1700s
Rachel Carson
Rachel Carson
1907 - 1964
illustration from Grounds of Natural Philosophy book
Margaret Lucas Cavendish
1623 - 1673
Undated portrait of mycologist Vera Charles
Vera Katherine Charles
1877 - 1954
Edith Coleman
1874 - 1951
An image of Marie Maynard Daly, a black woman scientist in a lab coat works with test tubes in a laboratory.
Marie Maynard Daly
1921 - 2003
man in a hat smoking a pipe
Paul de Kruif
1890 - 1971
drawing of a man in a hat
Francisco Hernández
1515 - 1587
Yeast Art portrait of Fanny Angelina Hesse
Fanny Angelina Hesse
1850 - 1934
Jane Marcet
1769 - 1858
Margery Milne
1914 - 2006
black and white photo of a man
Isaac Ochoterena
1895 - 1950
black and white photo of a man in a lab
Robert W. Parry
1917 - 2006
woman with glasses seated at a table reading a book
Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin
1900 - 1979
portrait of Ellen Richards in a cap and gown
Ellen H. Swallow Richards
1842 - 1911
Portrait of Jokichi Takamine
Jokichi Takamine
1854 - 1922

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.