Marie Curie and Lise Meitner November 7th marked the shared birthday of Marie Curie and Lise Meitner, pioneers whose discoveries transformed our understanding of the atom. These two are the only women with elements of the periodic table named after them: Curium and Meitnerium. They also shared both the brilliance and tenacity to succeed when… Continue reading A Tale of Two Elements:
Category: Life as a Scientist
Nancy Grace Roman:
Gazing Beyond the Stars Last week’s post referred to the Nancy Grace Roman Telescope and a reader asked, “Who is Nancy Grace Roman?” NASA astronomer Dr. Nancy Grace Roman, a tireless champion of the Hubble Space Telescope, became the first woman to serve as Chief of Astronomy at NASA. Her pioneering work laid the groundwork… Continue reading Nancy Grace Roman:
Ernest Everett Just
Great Underappreciated Black Biologist Ernest Everett Just was a pioneering African American biologist, academic, and science writer known for his work in the fields of cellular biology and marine biology. I learned about his life and contributions listening to a talk given by Mélina Mangal, author, school library teacher, and biographer of Ernest Everett Just.… Continue reading Ernest Everett Just
Future Work
Computational Biology A while back, I wrote a about how computational biology helps discover new medicines. Earlier, I chronicled the discoveries of Anika Chebrolu, a high school student well on her way to becoming a computational biologist. Since then I started wondering about this new hybrid career and what it offered. This post is an… Continue reading Future Work
Lab Girl by Hope Jahren
Geobiologist Dr. Hope Jahren wrote Lab Girl as a story of her life in science. The core of her book chronicles her life as a young woman growing up to be a scientist. “In my memory of those dark winter nights [in rural Minnesota] … as my father [who taught physics and earth sciences at… Continue reading Lab Girl by Hope Jahren