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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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Rachel Carson
Rachel Carson
1907 - 1964
black and white photo of George Washington Carver
George Washington Carver
ca. 1864 - 1943
illustration from Grounds of Natural Philosophy book
Margaret Lucas Cavendish
1623 - 1673
Edith Coleman
1874 - 1951
man in a hat smoking a pipe
Paul de Kruif
1890 - 1971
A person with white hair and a beard is wearing a suit, with framed certificates on the wall behind.
Carl Djerassi
1923 - 2015
Charles Drew is seated at a counter wearing a lab coat and touching a microscope
Charles Richard Drew
1904 - 1950
Alice Hamilton
1869 - 1970
Dorothy Hodgkin in 1991 is shown seated and smiling. Her hair is half up and she is wearing a floral dress with brown panels.
Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin
1910 - 1994
portrait of a man with a beard
Hudson Maxim
1853 - 1927
Margery Milne
1914 - 2006
Linus Carl Pauling
1901 - 1994
Illustration of Joseph Priestley
Joseph Priestley
1733 - 1804
portrait of Ellen Richards in a cap and gown
Ellen H. Swallow Richards
1842 - 1911
Undated photograph of Lee Riley
Lee W. Riley
1949 - 2022
sepia toned portrait of a man in coat and riding boots
Ignaz Semmelweis
1818 - 1865
woman seated writing notes
Maxine Singer
1931 - 2024
Hermann Staudinger
1881 - 1965
Albert sits on a chair, leaning forward with his elbows on his legs and hands clasped.
Albert Szent-Györgyi
1893 - 1986
Harvey Washington Wiley
1844 - 1930

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.