378: Françoise Barré-Sinoussi Virologist Born: 30 July 1947, Paris, France Françoise won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2008 (she shared it with three others). The citation for the award reads, “For their discovery of the human immunodeficiency virus,” otherwise known as HIV. That’s right, Françoise and her co-worker discovered HIV (in 1983). They…
377: Linda B. Buck Physiologist and Neurobiologist Born: 29 January 1947, Seattle, Washington, United States of America Linda was the receiver of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2004. She received her PhD in immunology in 1980. Linda and her co-worker discovered how hundreds of genes in our DNA code for the odorant sensors…
376: Shirley Ann Jackson Pioneering Physicist Born: 5 August 1946, Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America Shirley was the first African-American woman to receive a PhD from MIT (in Physics). She was also the second African American woman overall to receive a Physics PhD in the United States. Her research laid the groundwork…
375: Ada Yonath Biologist who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2009 Born: 22 June 1939, Geula, Jerusalem, Britain Mandate of Palestine (Present-day Israel) Ada received her PhD in 1968. Her work has largely been with ribosomes; beginning in the 1970’s, her hard work became a reality in 2000 with the successful mapping of…
374: Edith M. Flanigen Chemist Who Invented Molecular Sieve Zeolites Born: 28 January 1929, Buffalo, New York, United States of America Zeolites are used in everything from converting crude oil into gasoline and producing oxygen for portable medical oxygen units to cleaning up nuclear waste and even in laundry detergents. Edith started her chemistry career…
373: Mary Leakey Paleoanthropologist and Archaeologist Born: 6 February 1913, London, United Kingdom Died: 9 December 1996, Nairobi, Kenya Mary was noted for her ability to create beautiful scientific illustrations, and it was this skill that first led to her being in the field. She and her husband worked together for over thirty years studying…
372: Anna J Harrison Chemist and the First Woman Elected President of the American Chemical Society Born: 23 December 1912, Benton City, Missouri, United States of America Died: 8 August 1998, Holyoke, Massachusetts, United States of America Anna was a professor of chemistry at Mount Holyoke College for over thirty years. As a child, she…
371: Janaki Ammal Botanist Born: 4 November 1897, Tellichery (Present-day Thalassery), India Died: 7 February 1984, Maduravoyal, Chennai, India Born Name: Edavaleth Kakkat Janaki Ammal Janaki earned her Doctor of Science degree in botany in 1931, becoming the first Indian woman to earn a PhD in botany. She was the first “oriental” (the University News’s…
370: Irène Joliot-Curie Chemist and Daughter of Marie Curie Born: 12 September 1897, Paris, France Died: 17 March 1956, Paris, France She worked as a nurse radiographer alongside her mother during the First World War. Irène earned her PhD in 1925. Irène was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1935 for her work in…
369: Sofia Kovalevskaya Mathematician and Education Rights Advocate Born: 15 January 1850, Moscow, Russia Died: 10 February 1891, Stockholm, Sweden Original/Alternate Spellings: Sofya, Sophie, or Sonya Sofia stated her exposure to math began at a young age when her room was repapered with her father’s old calculus notes rather than wallpaper (this despite the fact…