7 Incredible Women In Science From Across The World
Science is a crucial part of the way society has been developing and improving over the years. With new innovations and discoveries every day, scientists are being recognised for their achievements across the different areas of science and STEM. And among them, many women scientists have made their mark, contributing greatly to various new innovations and discoveries that have shaped the world today as we know it. Here are 7 female scientists who are worthy of being remembered due to their great contributions to science:
1. Rajeshwari Chatterjee
60 years ago, Rajeshwari Chatterjee was the only woman faculty member in the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. She was the first woman engineer from Karnataka. During her tenure, she was professor and later chairperson of the Department of Electrical Communication Engineering. She mentored 20 PhD students, wrote over 100 research papers, and authored seven books. Following her retirement from the IISc in 1982, she worked on social programs, including the Indian Association for Women’s Studies.
2. Rosalind Elsie Franklin
An expert in physics and chemistry, Rosalind Franklin is one of the most important women in STEM, known as the figure behind the discovery of the helical structure of the DNA as we all know it to be today. She also discovered the fact that this very DNA is susceptible to a structure change when exposed to high moisture levels. While she has not been awarded a Nobel prize for it due to passing away at a young age, James Watson, who did win the award for this discovery, has always been vocal about Franklin’s contribution.
3. Katherine Johnson
Katherine Johnson was a mathematician attributed to developing NASA’s early-stage computers and missions. The equivalent of a human computer, Johnson solved crucial equations by hand, contributing directly to the mission that took the first man into space. Her contribution made it possible for the organisation to take the first steps into being the aeronautical giant it is today. She can be rightly stated to have become one of the most famous women scientists after being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015 by President Obama.
4. Barbara McClintock
When talking about women in biology, we surely cannot leave out Barbara McClintock, the 1983 recipient of the Nobel Prize for Medicine. Making the crucial discovery about the fluid nature of genes and the concept of genetic transposition, McClintock is the only woman in science who has won a Nobel prize on her own and not in collaboration with others.
5. Radia Perlman
Radia Perlman’s contributions to science should be more well known, considering how vast its usage is now. More specifically, Perlman is renowned as an “Internet Pioneer,” having developed the algorithm of the STP (Spanning Tree Protocol) that has made the internet possible today. Her contributions have led to her being coined as The Mother of the Internet, and she is surely one of the most famous female scientists we know of.
6. Dr. Indira Ahuja
Indira Hinduja is an Indian gynecologist, obstetrician and infertility specialist based in Mumbai.She pioneered the Gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT) technique resulting in the birth of India’s first GIFT baby on 4 January 1988. She has also received the Padma Shri in 2011 for her contribution in the field of infertility.
7. Sara Seager
A pioneer in space exploration, Seager is attributed to having found more than 700 planets spread throughout space while working with Kepler Space Telescope. Her contributions have been astronomical (pun intended!) in getting a deeper understanding of space, the many other solar systems that are there and the infinite emptiness and vastness of space.
