Marcia Neugebauer

Among the first researchers to yield direct measurements of the solar wind, Neugebauer made foundational contributions to space physics, including work that shed light on the solar wind's physics and its interaction...

Eleanor Francis Helin

Principal investigator of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) program, Helin was one of the most prolific discoverers of minor planets in the history of astronomy. Over her career, she...

Laura Niklason

Internationally recognized for pioneering work in vascular and lung tissue engineering, Niklason became the Nicholas M. Greene Professor of Anesthesiology and Biomedical Engineering at Yale University. She is also co-founder, chief executive...

Chien-Shiung Wu

Renowned for conducting the Wu experiment, which proved that parity is not conserved, Wu was a Chinese-American particle and experimental physicist whose work reshaped nuclear and particle physics. Her discovery led directly...

Henrietta Swan Leavitt

Her discovery of the period-luminosity relationship for Cepheid variable stars gave astronomers their first reliable tool for measuring distances to other galaxies, fundamentally shifting the understanding of the scale and nature of...

Shirley Ann Jackson

The first African American woman to earn a doctorate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Jackson received that degree in Theoretical Elementary Particle Physics. She is also the second African American woman...

Francoise Barre-Sinoussi

Winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Barré-Sinoussi shared the award with her former mentor Luc Montagnier for their discovery of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Her fundamental work...

Grete Hermann

Known for foundational work in both quantum mechanics and computer algebra, Hermann was a German mathematician, philosopher, and theoretical physicist whose critique of Von Neumann's no hidden variables proof proved decades ahead...

Maria Mitchell

The first woman elected Fellow of both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Mitchell was also the first internationally known woman to...

Cheryl L. Shavers

Appointed Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology in the Clinton Administration, Shavers served in that role from 1999 to 2001, representing one of the most senior positions in U.S. technology policy. Her...

Maxine Fassberg

Named one of the "10 most powerful women in tech" by CNN in 2010, Fassberg spent 33 years rising through key positions at Intel, ultimately serving as general manager and CEO of...

Tu Youyou

The first female citizen of the People's Republic of China to receive a Nobel Prize in any category, Tu Youyou was awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly with...

Darleane C. Hoffman

Among the researchers who confirmed the existence of seaborgium (element 106), Hoffman was an American nuclear chemist whose work placed her at the forefront of her field. She became a faculty senior...

Patricia S. Cowings

The first American woman to be trained as a scientist astronaut by NASA, Cowings was an aerospace psychophysiologist whose work focused on the physiology of astronauts in outer space. She served as...

Rosalyn S. Yalow

Co-winner of the 1977 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Yalow shared the honor with Roger Guillemin and Andrew Schally for the development of the radioimmunoassay technique. She was the second woman...

Stephanie L. Kwolek

Inventor of Kevlar (poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide), Kwolek was an American chemist whose career at DuPont spanned more than 40 years. Her discovery earned her the DuPont Lavoisier Medal for outstanding technical achievement, and...

Gertrude B. Elion

Awarded the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine alongside George H. Hitchings and Sir James Black, Elion was an American biochemist and pharmacologist recognized for pioneering rational drug design. Rather than...