Women have contributed to the field of mathematics and science for more than millennia. They have revolutionized this world, making it a far better place. This article celebrates these accomplishments with the following list of 10 women in math and sciences.
1. Hypatia
There is a lot known about this early female scientist. She was born in Alexandria, Egypt to a renowned mathematician and astronomer, Theon. Throughout her life, she lectured and wrote extensively about mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, and mechanics. She reportedly wrote a 13 volume commentary titled Arithmetica of Diophantus and the popularization of Apollonius’ work on conic sections.
This is not all that defines Hypatia. The woman was a greater inventor, formulating a device for removing salt from seawater as well as plane astrolabe.
2. Jane Goodall
Goodall’s research and study of chimpanzees in Africa is the longest continuous study of animals in the wild. Naturalists like Stephen Jay Gould have been often praised her work, finding it to be the “Western World’s Great Scientific Achievements.”
Her research is not the only thing that is praiseworthy. Her talent and knack for education is also important and worth mentioning. She educates others about chimpanzees and strives to save the habitat of wild ones through lectures and speeches. She sponsored a program that teaches children to care about animals, the environment and their home communities.
3. Helen Taussig
Helen Taussig is one of the most magnificent women to have lived in 20th century. Her innovation and her specialization are renowned throughout the world, especially at John Hopkins. She is most known for devising an operation that restored the health of blue babies. Blue babies are born with defects which affect heart and lungs. Her operation brought back the necessary oxygen babies needed to breathe through their lungs.
4. Fan Chung:
Chung has written more than 200 papers in her field of mathematics. She is also the author of two books on graph theory. Her research focuses on spectral graph theory, discrete geometry, algorithms and communication networks. In 1990, she won the Allendoefer Award from the Mathematical Association of America for her article “Steiner Trees on a Checkerboard”.
5. Cleopatra the Alchemist
Cleopatra was a famous scientist and author in Ancient Egypt. The real name of Cleopatra is not known. Cleopatra is really a pseudonym for names not retrieved. Anyhow, what is important is that Cleopatra was a foundational figure in alchemy. She was one of 4 people to know how to make a philosopher’s stone. She deserves a spot on this list for her innovation and her enthusiasm.
6. Emma Perry Carr
Emma Carr, not to be confused with Emily Carr, is a significant scientist worth mentioning in this article. She has had ground-breaking success researching the complex structure of organic chemicals. Organic compounds are usually dependent on how the atoms are arranged within the molecules. One way to understand the structure is by analyzing it through the spectroscope.
7. Marie Curie
Curie was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize and one of few to win it twice for good reasons. She dedicated her life’s work to examining the high energy rays spontaneously produced by some elements. She was also dedicated to isolating two new radioactive elements, polonium and radium. Without her abilities, x-rays would not be used for medical treatments today.
8. Tomoko Ohta
This Japanese scientist focuses her research on molecular evolution. When working on the neutral theory of evolution with Motoo Kimuru, she was convinced that mutations were neutral. Her innovative deleterious model has served as a foundation for future work in this field.
9. Alice Stewart
Alice Stewart made a brilliant discovery that prevented more issues and problems post birth for both parents and children. She discovered that x-rays done on pregnant women cause children to have leukemia. Her experience working at the Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine at Oxford during WWII, coupled with her research on social medicine Alice Stewart deserves a spot on this list. She was awarded the Right Livelihood Award in 1986.
10. Cynthia Moss
Moss’ passion for conservation and the study of elephants should be noted on here as well. She spent 30 years in Africa studying the animals and working to help conserve them. She’s brought success to her studies, being able to identify and record more than 1400 elephants. Her actions are rooted in her philosophy as she strongly believes that elephants are unique and one can see that though their intelligence and their structure.
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