I originally intended for this to be included in my post about International Day of Women and Girls in Science, but there is no way I would be able to do these women justice as one part of a bigger post. So, they get their own! This is by no means an exhaustive list of all the awesome women in science, just some of the ones that I get most excited about.
Marie Curie
Marie Curie worked alongside her husband, Pierre, but was one of the first women to be recognized for her work in science. She did research on radioactivity, and discovered two elements – polonium (named after her home country of Poland) and radium. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person (and only woman) to win a Nobel Prize twice, and the only person to win in two different fields. Unfortunately, the research she is so well known for also led to her death. She died at age 66 of radiation poisoning.
Mary Anning
From a very young age, Mary Anning spent her days exploring the seaside and collecting fossils near her home in England. When she was only 12 years old, she discovered the first ichthyosaur. She was also the first to discover a complete skeleton of a plesiosaur. My favorite contribution of Mary Anning is her pioneering study of coprolites (fossilized poop!). Despite all her discoveries, she was not eligible to join the Geological Society of London because she was a woman. Mary is still regarded as one of the greatest fossil hunters to this day.
Jennifer Doudna
Jennifer Doudna codeveloped CRISPR, a technique used in gene editing that is much more efficient and simpler than previous methods. She won a Nobel Prize in 2020 for her work with CRISPR. Some of the food we eat today has been genetically modified with using the CRISPR technique. There are so many possibilities for advancement using this technology, but the one I find most interesting and controversial is its use in de-extinction – bringing extinct animals (like the woolly mammoth) back to life. If you haven’t heard about this, you NEED to check it out. And then let me know what you think, I could talk about this for days.
Rosalind Franklin
You have probably heard of Watson and Crick – the co-discoverers of the double helix form of DNA. But did you know that Rosalind Franklin played a key role in that discovery as well? She learned the technique of x-ray diffraction, and then pioneered the use of that technique to create images of not just single crystals, but entire crystallized solids. With her new technique, she was able to get a photograph of DNA, which showed the double helix structure. That photograph (Photo 51) was used as evidence to support the proposed DNA model, and the Watson and Crick duo took credit for the discovery and Rosalind was basically passed over.
Vera Rubin
Vera Rubin is most well known for her work with “dark matter”. She determined that about 90% of the mass in the universe can’t be seen, but it can be detected by how it distorts visible matter around it. She was the first woman allowed to observe at the Palomar Observatory, which had the most powerful telescopes at the time she was using it. Vera Rubin was elected to the National Academy of Science and was awarded the National Medal of Science. And although she was not awarded a Nobel Prize, she arguably has something better – The Vera Rubin Ridge on Mars was named after her, as well as the asteroid 5726 Rubin.
Katherine Johnson
As a young girl, Katherine Johnson loved numbers and everything about them. At age 34, she started work at NASA, where she worked as a mathematician for more than 30 years. Her calculations were crucial to the success of the first manned space flight. For that first flight, she did all the calculations by hand and was known as a “human computer”. For later flights, she helped pioneer the use of actual computers to do the complex math instead. She was also one of the first African American women to work as a NASA scientist. You may be familiar with Katherine Johnson from her portrayal in the 2016 movie Hidden Figures.
Elizabeth Blackwell
Elizabeth Blackwell studied medicine privately, but when she applied to medical school, she was met with rejection after rejection. When she was finally admitted, she was harassed by classmates and even barred from certain classes. Despite that, in 1849 she graduated top of her class and was the first woman in the United States to get a medical degree. She was then also the first to become a practicing doctor. Elizabeth Blackwell advocated for women to be more represented in the field of medicine, and even opened her own medical college for women, giving them the same opportunities she had fought so hard for.
In conclusion
All these women, and many others, have made important discoveries and advancements in all fields of science and math. And while I am so excited to learn about them and share their stories, it is a little disheartening to realize how many of these women faced significant hardship or missed well deserved opportunities and accolades because they were women. I hope that we can continue to change the culture around STEM fields and create equal opportunities for women to do the work they love and receive the recognition they deserve.