Ada Lovelace Day

Perhaps you recall my pledge a couple months back to participate in Ada Lovelace Day, a blogging celebration of women in technology. (Lovelace was the first computer programmer, even before there were computers. She wrote code for Babbage’s analytical engine before it was built.) The pledge needed 1,000 signers to go into effect, and as of right now it has nearly twice that: 1,980. Nearly two thousand people are writing today about a woman in technology they admire. Too cool!

I’ve chosen to write about Stephanie Kwolek, the DuPont chemist who is best known for having invented Kevlar (poly-paraphenylene terephtalamide) in 1964. Five times as strong as steel, Kevlar has found many applications, from sports equipment to synthetic woodwind reeds to bulletproof vests. Kwolek worked on many other synthetic materials, including Lycra and Spandex (probably pretty familiar to you), Nomex (flame-resistant and used by firefighters and race car drivers), and Kapton (used in flexible electronics and space suits).

Stephanie Kwolek graduated in 1946 with a B.S. in chemistry from Margaret Morrison Carnegie College, the now-closed women’s college associated with Carnegie Mellon University. She wanted to go on to medical school but couldn’t afford it, and interviewed for a research position at DuPont. I love this story about her interview:

After [W. Hale] Charch indicated that he would let her know in about two weeks whether she would be offered a job, Kwolek asked him if he could possibly make a decision sooner since she had to reply shortly to another offer. Charch called in his secretary and in Kwolek’s presence dictated a job offer letter. In later years, reflecting upon this bold request for a woman to make in 1946, she suspected that her assertiveness influenced his decision in her favor.

Kwolek holds 28 patents and has won many awards recognizing her contributions to the polymers industry. In 1995 she was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. In 1996 she won the National Medal of Technology “for her contributions to the discovery, development and liquid [crystal] processing of high-performance aramid fibers which provide new products worldwide to save lives and benefit humankind.” She also won the Lemelson-MIT Lifetime Acheivement Award in 1999.

Kwolek’s biography in the “Winner’s Circle” on the Lemelson-MIT Program’s website catalogues her many contributions, and also notes that she began her education and career in chemistry

during a time when women were encouraged to be homemakers instead of going to school. Inspired and supported by her parents to pursue this route, Kwolek comments, “I recommend that parents encourage their daughters to pursue scientific careers, if they are so inclined, in the same way they would their sons. The opportunities for both sexes are far more equal now.” Though she faced gender discrimination as she rose to the top, she paved the way for other aspiring female scientists and now serves as a mentor to many.

I found this profile of Kwolek, originally broadcast on public radio as part of a series on women in science. It sounds like she’d be an amazing mentor. She’s certainly an inspiration:

“I discovered over the years,” she said, “that I seemed to see things that other people did not see. Generally, if things don’t work out, I don’t just throw them out, I struggle over them, to try to see if there’s something there. You have to be inquisitive about things. You have to have an open mind.”

That same program notes that as a child, Kwolek had dreamed of being a fashion designer. It makes a nice story, to have wanted to be a fashion designer or a doctor, and end up using chemistry to design fabrics that save lives. I think it’s also interesting in terms of our preconceptions about what being a scientist means and what scientists ought to care about. It’s another reminder that liking traditionally feminine things is not mutually exclusive with being a successful scientist. Additionally, it underscores the fact that the messages we send children matter. Kwolek’s parents could have fostered only her interest in sewing, but they encouraged her to study science. If they hadn’t, the world would really be missing out.

March 24, 2009 · Written by
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