Eliza Lucas Pinckney (1722-1793) developed the technique for large-scale cultivation and processing of indigo for dye. Indigo would sustain the economy of the Carolinas for the next 30 years.
The first woman to graduate from MIT *Ellen Henrietta Swallow Richards (1842-1911) established the field of home economics and developed the first water quality tables in the U.S.
Pioneering geologist Florence Bascom (1862-1945) established a nomenclature for identifying acidic volcanoes, was the first woman hired by the U.S. Geological Survey and mentored generations of women scientists.
Before becoming a revered author of children’s literature, Beatrix Potter (1866-1943) studied fungi and submitted a paper with her theory of their germination to the Linnean Society.
The discoverer of radioactivity, Marie Curie (1867-1934) was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the first person and only woman to win two Nobel Prizes.
Physicist Lise Meitner (1878-1968) co-led the group of nuclear scientists who discovered nuclear fission of uranium. She was the first woman full professor in Germany.
*Barbara McClintock (1902-1992) received an unshared Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her discovery of the ability of genes to change positions on the chromosome (jumping genes).
*Maria Goeppert-Mayer (1906-1972) was the first American woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Physics. It was for her work on the structure of atoms – spin-orbit coupling.
Limnologist *Ruth Patrick (1907-2013) invented the diatometer to measure diatoms in the water. The health of the diatoms indicates the level of pollution in the water. The Patrick Principle is named for her.
Physicist *Chien-Shiung Wu (1912-1997) worked on the Manhattan Project to develop the nuclear bomb and was the first living scientist to have an asteroid named for her.
*Stephanie Kwolek (1923-2014) invented Kevlar, a synthetic fiber that is stronger than steel and is used in more than 200 products from bulletproof vests to tires to space vehicles.
Bette Nesmith Graham (1924-1980) invented Mistake Out (today Liquid Paper) to cover up errors in typed documents.
Astronomer Vera Rubin (1928-2016) discovered dark matter in the universe and received the National Medal of Science.
Plasma physicist Betsy Ancker-Johnson (1929- ) invented a high-frequency signal generator using semiconductor materials and has multiple patents in this area of investigation.
Chemist Patsy Sherman (1930-2008) was a co-inventor of Scotchgard, a fluorchemical polymer that repels oil and water from fabrics (a textile protector).
Mary Dell Chilton (1939- ) is one of the founders of modern plant biotechnology. She led the team that discovered a way to transfer DNA to another organism.
Jocelyn Bell Burnell (1943- ) discovered the first radio pulsars while a postgraduate student.
Nuclear physicist *Shirley Ann Jackson (1946- ) received the National Medal of Science “for her insightful work in condensed matter physics and particle physics, for her science-rooted public policy achievements, and for her inspiration to the next generation of professionals in the science, technology, engineering, and math fields.”
Linda Buck (1947-) received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her pioneering work on understanding the human sense of smell; more specifically for “discoveries of odorant receptors and the organization of the olfactory system.”
Animal scientist and autism advocate *Temple Grandin (1947- ) developed the “hug box” to comfort those on the autism spectrum – and later expanded its principles to help calm animals.
Jill S. Tietjen, P.E., co-author of Her Story: A Timeline of the Women Who Changed America, www.herstoryatimeline.com
* Indicates an Inductee into the National Women's Hall of Fame
