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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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Paul Berg
1926 - 2023
Herbert Boyer in 2005.
Herbert W. Boyer
b. 1936
Rachel Fuller Brown
1898 - 1980
Undated portrait of mycologist Vera Charles
Vera Katherine Charles
1877 - 1954
Stanley N. Cohen.
Stanley N. Cohen
b. 1935
man in a hat smoking a pipe
Paul de Kruif
1890 - 1971
Gerhard Domagk stares towards the camera with his chin resting on his hand. he wears a light colored jacket with a dark tie.
Gerhard Domagk
1895 - 1964
A painted portrait of a bearded man in a suit, with shelves of bottles in the background.
Paul Ehrlich
1854 - 1915
Alexander Fleming working in a lab holding a petri dish
Alexander Fleming
1881 - 1955
Elizabeth Lee Hazen
1885 - 1975
Louis Pasteur
1822 - 1895
Julius Richard Petri pictured at the Robert Koch Institute in Germany, ca. 1800s
Julius Richard Petri
1852 - 1921
Undated photograph of Lee Riley
Lee W. Riley
1949 - 2022
Albert Sabin demonstrates how the oral vaccine for polio is given to children.
Albert Bruce Sabin
1906 - 1993
Jonas Salk
1914 - 1995
sepia toned portrait of a man in coat and riding boots
Ignaz Semmelweis
1818 - 1865
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.