This is the third in a regular series of LinkedIn articles featuring women (past and present) who made significant contributions to science and technology. The name of this series is “Lady Edisons” in honor of Beulah Louise Henry.
Photo from Scientificwomen.net
Stephanie Kwolek, one of the first female chemists, attended Carnegie Melon receiving her BA in chemistry. In 1965 she began working at DuPont as a chemist, where she invented poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide. This invention is heavily utilized today and is more commonly known as Kevlar. – US Patent No. 3,287,323. Kevlar was an incredible innovation that was discovered while Kwolek was working on a counter-measure to the impending gasoline shortage. Its original purpose was to produce tires made of lighter material to improve gas mileage. Kevlar has since been in over 200 applications, including cellphones, bulletproof military vests, skis, tennis rackets, canoes, aircraft parts, bike tires, fiber optic cables and may others. Stephanie Kwolek is the recipient/co-recipient of 17 US patents.
During her time at DuPont she received the Chemical Pioneer Award from the American Institute of Chemists (1980). She went on to receive multiple honors for her innovations. She is the only woman to ever receive DuPont company’s Lavoisier Award for outstanding technical achievement (1995). She was inducted into the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame in 1995, the 4th woman to receive this honor . Additionally, she received The Kilby Award (1994), The USPTO American Innovator Award (1995), The National Medal of Technology (1997), The IRI Achievement award (1997), the Perkin Medal (1997), and The Lemelson MIT Lifetime achievement award (1999). Stephanie Kwolek was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2003.
In 2013, a children’s book telling her story was published. The book, named 'Woman Who Invented the Thread That Stops the Bullets: The Genius of Stephanie Kwolek' was published by Edwin Brit Wyckoff. It details Kwolek’s life and her contributions to science.
Check out these websites to learn more about “Lady Edison” Stephanie Kwolek.
“Lady Edisons” is a series prepared by Ann McCrackin featuring women (past and present) whose contributions to science and technology may not be well known. Previous articles in this series are available at LadyEdisons.com or on Twitter @LadyEdisons.
Ann is a patent attorney and an Adjunct Law Professor at the University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law. Ann is passionate about both innovation and education in the legal profession. Ann is a frequent speaker on legal operations and automation. Follow her on LinkedIn or @LegalOpsAI on Twitter for regular posts on legal technology, automation and artificial intelligence.