Wonder Woman of the Week: Stephanie Kwolek

Young Stephanie Kwolek was no stranger to science. She often explorer her family's land with her Naturalist father. She would catalog newly found species of birds, look for animal footprints, and closely study trees and grasses on the farm. After her father died when she was ten, Kwolek began looking up to her mother who now had to take care of the family. When Stephanie told her mother she wanted to become a fashion designer, her mother told her she was too much of a perfectionist and suggested medicine. Originally, Kwolek went to school to get a degree in medicine, but switched to chemistry after a she proved her assertiveness during a job interview. While working as a chemist, Kwotek specialized in trying to find new polymers to make stronger fibers for fabric. Eventually, Kwolek discovered a way to spin a particulary strong yet flexible fiber into a material lighter and stronger than any there had ever been before. That material would eventually be called Kevlar and it is used in bullet-proof vests, and coating boats and tires. Kevlar now has over two hundred uses and they are all thanks to Stephanie Kwolek. Kwolek later went on to earn induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, the National Medal of Technology, and the Perkin Medal- all of which were rare for women of her time. She also worked to increase the number of young children interested in science and one of her most famous experiments, "The Nylon Rope Trick" is now common in almost every science classroom across the US. To learn more about Stephanie Kwolek, follow this link: http://www.chemheritage.org/discover/online-resources/chemistry-in-history/themes/petrochemistry-and-synthetic-polymers/synthetic-polymers/kwolek.aspx

And if you know of a Wonder Woman I haven't showcased yet, feel free to send them my way.