Showcase of Women in Science & Math

Are you curious about the world around you? Do you like the challenge of figuring out why things are the way they are? Do you like math or science? You're in good company!!

Women have been making significant contributions in math and science for as long as humans have been studying these subjects.

Linda Hayden

Linda Hayden Headshot

Image courtesy of Elizabeth City State University

Mathematician

Linda Hayden is a professor at ECSU and is well-known for her dedication to increasing opportunities for minorities in math and science fields.

Learn more about her from The HistoryMakers.

Omowunmi Sadik

Omowunmi Sadik Headshot

Image courtesy of SUNY Binghamton

Chemist

Omowunmi Sadik is a professor at Binghamton University and a leader in the field of research studying biosensors and sustainable nanotechnology.

Learn more about her from The HistoryMakers.

Gertrude Bell Elion

Gertrude Bell Elion

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

Biochemist

Gertrude Bell Elion discovered medications for HIV/AIDS, immunity disorders, and leukemia; winning the Nobel Prize with her colleague George Hitchings.

Learn more about her from the Nobel Prize Foundation.

Maria Mitchell

Maria Mitchell

Public domain image from Wikipedia

Astronomer

Maria Mitchell discovered a comet in 1847 and is widely recognized as the first woman to work as a professional astronomer.

Learn more about her from the National Women's History Museum.

Mary Anning

Mary Anning

Public domain image from Wikipedia

Paleontologist

Mary Anning, starting at age 12, made important fossil finds that contributed to our understanding of prehistoric life on Earth.

Learn more about her from the UK National History Museum.

Emmy Noether

Emmy Noether

Public domain image from Wikipedia

Mathematician

Emmy Noether helped establish the field abstract algebra and proved Noether's theorem, which is fundamental in modern physics.

Learn more about her from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland.

Alexandria Tinné

Alexandrina Tinne

Public domain image from Wikipedia

Explorer

Alexandrina Tinné was a Dutch explorer in Africa in the 1860s. She collected now rare artifacts of the material culture in the Sudan.

Learn more about her from WomeninExploration.org

Maria Goeppert Mayer

Maria Goeppert Mayer

Public domain image from US Dept of Energy

Physicist

Maria Goeppert Mayer was awarded the 1963 Nobel Prize in physics for her work on the nuclear shell structure.

Learn more about her from the Nobel Prize Foundation.

Marie Tharp

Marie Tharp

Image from of Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory

Geologist

Marie Tharp created a detailed map of the ocean floor that help to prove the theory of continental drift.

Learn more about her from Columbia Univeristy.

Margaret J. S. Collins

Zoologist

Margaret Collins was the first female African-American entomologist. A field biologist, she studied termites for most of her career and her work is still cited.

Learn more about her from the Smithsonian Institution Archives

Gertrude Cori

Gerty Cori

Image found at US Library of Congress

Biochemist

Gerty Cori, along with her husband Carl, won the 1947 Nobel Prize in Psysiology or Medicine for their work on the process of glycogen metabolism.

Learn more about her from the Nobel Foundation.

Rachel Carson

Rachel Carson

Public domain image from US Fish & Wildlife Service

Marine Biologist

Rachel Carson is perhaps best known as a  conservationist who wrote The Sea Around Us and Silent Spring.

Learn more about her from RachelCarson.org.

Flemmie Pansy Kittrell

Nutritionist

Flemmie Kittrell conducted research on nutrition's role in child development and advocated for programs around the world that promoted better nutrition.

Learn more about her from BlackPast.org.

Marie-Sophie Germain

Marie-Sophie Germain

Public domain image from Wikipedia

Mathematician

Sophie Germain developed number theory that is used in applied mathematics and the study of elasticity and acoustics.

Learn more about her from Univeristy of St. Andrews, Scotland.

Katherine Johnson

Katherine Johnson

NASA image from Wikipedia

Mathematician

Katherine Johnson, featured in Hidden Figures, did the complex calculations critical for the success of early American space flights.

Learn more about her from NASA.

Dorothy Vaughan

Dorothy Vaughan

Image courtesy of Vaughan Family via NASA

Mathematician

Dorothy Vaughan, featured in Hidden Figures, taught herself and others computer programming and became the first African-American supervisor at NASA.

Learn more about her from NASA.

The HistoryMakers is the largest collection of oral history testimonies of African Americans. Explore an expansive selection of biographies for men and women in math and sciences.

For even more examples of women making waves in STEM throughout history, check out Lost Women of Science, which includes a fantastic podcast that takes deep dives into the lives of these amazing women.