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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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Harold Kroto
Harold W. Kroto
1939 - 2016
Stephanie L. Kwolek
1923 - 2014
Ralph Landau
1916 - 2004
Robert S. Langer
b. 1948
Irving Langmuir at home enjoying Harper’s Magazine.
Irving Langmuir
1881 - 1957
Warren K. Lewis
Warren K. Lewis
1882 - 1975
Carl von Linde
1842 - 1934
Arthur Dehon Little.
Arthur Little
1863 - 1935
Alan MacDiarmid
Alan MacDiarmid
1927 - 2007
Russell Earl Marker
1902 - 1995
portrait of a man with a beard
Hudson Maxim
1853 - 1927
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
b. 1953
Gordon E. Moore
1929 - 2023
Giulio Natta, 1963.
Giulio Natta
1903 - 1979
Alfred Nobel
1833 - 1896
A professional portrait of Donald Othmer as a young man, wearing a suit and tie.
Donald F. Othmer
1904 - 1995
b/w photo of a women seated in a dress
Mary Engle Pennington
1872 - 1952
Portrait of William Henry Perkin, 1906.
William Henry Perkin
1838 - 1907
Roy J. Plunkett
1910 - 1994
black and white photo of a man in a lab
Petr Rehbinder
1898 - 1972
Rosenkranz in a suit and tie, smiling
George Rosenkranz
1916 - 2019
Hideki Shirakawa
Hideki Shirakawa
b. 1936
woman seated writing notes
Maxine Singer
1931 - 2024
Richard E. Smalley
1943 - 2005
Undated photo of Danish chemist Soren Sorensen working in a lab.
Søren Sørensen
1868 - 1939
Portrait of Jokichi Takamine
Jokichi Takamine
1854 - 1922
Portrait of William Walker
William Walker
1869 - 1934
Harvey Washington Wiley
1844 - 1930
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