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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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A mannequin wearing an 18th-century style blue dress with lace and elaborate hairstyle.
Blue Silk Dress
ca. 1700s
Portrait of Helia Bravo-Hollis, 2001.
Helia Bravo-Hollis
1901 - 2001
Undated portrait of Stanislao Cannizzaro
Stanislao Cannizzaro
1826 - 1910
man in lab coat conducting an experiment
Ernst Boris Chain
1906 - 1979
Nancy Chang
b. 1950
Carl and Gerty Cori in their lab, wearing white lab coats. Carl points to a document with a pencil. There are beakers and bottles in the background.
Carl Ferdinand Cori
1896 - 1984
Gerty and Carl Cori working in a lab
Gerty Theresa Cori
1896 - 1957
A person with white hair and a beard is wearing a suit, with framed certificates on the wall behind.
Carl Djerassi
1923 - 2015
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
Charles Drew is seated at a counter wearing a lab coat and touching a microscope
Charles Richard Drew
1904 - 1950
Howard Florey.
Howard Walter Florey
1898 - 1968
sepia-toned portrait of Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac
Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac
1778 - 1850
Autographed etching of Fritz Haber, 1922
Fritz Haber
1868 - 1934
Otto Hahn.
Otto Hahn
1879 - 1968
drawing of a man in a hat
Francisco Hernández
1515 - 1587
man standing at a table looking down
Eizi Matuda
1894 - 1978
portrait of a man with a beard
Hudson Maxim
1853 - 1927
A black-and-white photograph of a woman with a serious expression, wearing a dark top with a white collar.
Lise Meitner
1878 - 1968
Portrait of Dmitri Mendeleev, ca. 1900.
Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev
1834 - 1907
Giulio Natta, 1963.
Giulio Natta
1903 - 1979
Alfred Nobel
1833 - 1896
black and white photo of a man
Isaac Ochoterena
1895 - 1950
Linus Carl Pauling
1901 - 1994
Illustration of Joseph Priestley
Joseph Priestley
1733 - 1804
black and white photo of a man in a lab
Petr Rehbinder
1898 - 1972
Undated photograph of Lee Riley
Lee W. Riley
1949 - 2022
Rosenkranz in a suit and tie, smiling
George Rosenkranz
1916 - 2019
Black and white photograph of Glenn T. Seaborg in an office
Glenn Theodore Seaborg
1912 - 1999
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