Women in Science

BOTTOM

Stories

Dian Fossey

By: Alivia from Hillsborough

Dian Fossey worked to protect the endangered Mountain Gorilla.

Peggy Whitson

By: Alex Gaytan

Peggy Whitson was the first female chief of NASA’s astronaut corps. (2/9/1960)

Judith A. Resnik

By: Alyssa from Ohio

Judith A. Resnik inspired others with her determination to become a scientist and an astronaut.

Adarsha Shivakumar and Apoorva Rangan Project Jatropha

By: David Kemker from The MY HERO Project

Adarsha Shivakumar and Apoorva Rangan Project Jatropha started the nonprofit Project Jatropha which is an alternative to fossil fuel.

Dr. Vandana Shiva

By: David Kemker

Dr. Vandana Shiva works to preserve biodiversity for the planet.

How One Environmentalist Changed Our World: Jane Goodall

By: Saba Azimipour

Jane Goodall is an anthropologist and the leading researcher of chimpanzees.

Margaret Mead

By: Alex from Virginia

Margaret Mead was a renowned anthropologist who thought in terms of 'the interconnection of all aspects of human life.'

Marie Curie

By: Leo Lyons

Margot Lee Shetterly: Shining a Light on Hidden Figures

By: Shannon Luders-Manuel

Margot Lee Shetterly is the author of "Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race."

Dr. Barbara Ross-Lee

By: Sabin from Raleigh

Dr. Barbara Ross-Lee is the first African American woman to be dean of a US medical school and remains one of seven female deans of medical schools in the United States.

Elizebeth Friedman

By: Sean Tran

Elizabeth Friedman is known as "America's first female cryptanalyist" for her work deciphering codes between Nazi forces during WWII.

Dorothy Vaughan

By: Brittny Barcenas

Dorothy Vaughan was the first African American woman to supervise the West Area Computers, "human computers" at NASA (originally NACA) during the Space Race.

Florence Bascom

Florence Bascom was a rockstar geologist.

Alice Ball

By: MY HERO Staff

Alice Ball was an African American chemist who created a highly effective treatment for leprosy. She wasn't given credit for her discovery until after her death.

Kathy Sullivan

By: Raquel Diaz-Sprague<br><h5> Reprinted with permission from <br>the <a href=h...

Kathy Sullivan was the first American woman to walk in space.

Gwynne Rowley Shotwell

By: Torrey Levin-Russell

Gwynne Rowley Shotwell is the president of SpaceX, the company that made the Dragon space craft.

Marie M. Daly

By: Staff

Marie Maynard Daly was the first Black American woman to earn a PhD. in chemistry

Sylvia Earle

By: Edward Ortiz

"The key is to see ourselves as a part of the natural systems that support us."

Temple Grandin

By: Camille from San Diego

Temple Grandin is a professor, a doctor of animal science and an autism activist.

Nancy Caruso

By: Anabelle Vo

Nancy Caruso is a marine biologist who helped bring kelp forests back to the California coast.

Alexandra Cousteau

By: Mina Al Saddawi

Alexandra Cousteau is a visionary and trailblazer who pushes the boundaries of discovery, adventure, and global problem solving.

Julia Robinson

By: Cheuk Yiu (Rene) Cheng

Julia Robinson was the the first female president of the American Mathematical Society and was known for her work on Hilbert's 10th Problem.

Irene Curie

By: Lauren Zeranski

Irene Curie was the second woman in history to win the Nobel Prize in science; the first woman was her mother, Marie.

Svetlana Savitskaya

By: Roman from Kurgan

Svetlana Savitskaya was the first woman to walk in space.

Sally Kristen Ride

By: Elenamarie from San Diego

Sally Ride, first US woman in space.

Fe Del Mundo

By: Skyler Gallarzan

Fe Del Mundo, referred to as the first woman to attend Harvard Medical School, was also the first person to be named one of the National Scientists of the Philippines.

Dr. Hawa Abdi - The Mother of Hope Village

By: Nicole

Dr. Hawa Abdi, Somalia's first female gynecologist, turned her family's land into a hospital, school and nutrition center focused on women and children.

Listen & Read Along

Katherine Johnson

By: Kyra from Ankara, Turkey

Her story was hidden for decades: Katherine Johnson plotted multiple flight courses for NASA, including the Apollo 11 spacecraft, the first spaceship to reach the moon.

Gertrude B. Elion

By: Susannah Abbey

Gertrude B. Elion developed the AIDS drug AZT.

Andrea Mia Ghez

By: Jennifer Lauren Lee

Andrea Mia Ghez is an astrophysicist best known for her discoveries about the black hole at the center of our galaxy.

Umra Omar

By: Alyssa from Cincinnati

Umra Omar, a doctor and member of Safari Doctors, travels through dangerous parts of Kenya to bring medical aid where it is needed.

Elizabeth Blackwell

By: Tahrin and Brooke

Elizabeth Blackwell became the first female doctor and opened the first medical school for women.

Grace Murray Hopper