Mathematics and Computing
Ada Lovelace
1815 – 1852
British
Discovery
Published an algorithm for Charles Babbage's proposed Analytical Engine
Nobel
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Permanent Collection
Explore the Collection
Browse the museum's growing archive of pioneering women whose ideas reshaped science.
Computer Science and Programming
Adele Goldstine
1920 – 1964
American
Discovery
Documented and helped program ENIAC, contributing to the transition toward stored-program computing
Nobel
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Chemistry
Alice Ball
1892 – 1916
American
Discovery
Developed an injectable treatment derived from chaulmoogra oil
Nobel
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Astronomy and Astrophysics
Andrea Ghez
1965 – Present
American
Discovery
Led observations demonstrating a supermassive compact object at the centre of the Milky Way
Nobel
🏅 Nobel Laureate
Astronomy
Annie Jump Cannon
1863 – 1941
American
Discovery
Developed the stellar classification sequence used in modern astronomy
Nobel
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Computer Science
Barbara Liskov
1939 – Present
American
Discovery
Pioneered data abstraction, the CLU programming language, and principles of behavioral subtyping
Nobel
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Genetics
Barbara McClintock
1902 – 1992
American
Discovery
Discovered mobile genetic elements through studies of maize
Nobel
🏅 Nobel Laureate
Astrophysics
Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin
1900 – 1979
British and American
Discovery
Showed that stars are composed mainly of hydrogen and helium
Nobel
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Experimental Physics
Chien-Shiung Wu
1912 – 1997
Chinese and American
Discovery
Experimental demonstration that parity is not conserved in weak interactions
Nobel
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Optical Physics and Laser Science
Donna Strickland
1959 – Present
Canadian
Discovery
Co-developed chirped pulse amplification for generating high-intensity ultrashort laser pulses
Nobel
🏅 Nobel Laureate
Chemistry
Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin
1910 – 1994
British
Discovery
Determined structures of important biological molecules using X-ray crystallography
Nobel
🏅 Nobel Laureate
Electrical Engineering
Edith Clarke
1883 – 1959
American
Discovery
Developed graphical and mathematical methods for solving electrical power-transmission problems
Nobel
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Mathematics and Mathematical Physics
Emmy Noether
1882 – 1935
German
Discovery
Noether's theorem connected symmetries with conservation laws
Nobel
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Statistics and Public Health
Florence Nightingale
1820 – 1910
British
Discovery
Used statistical evidence and data visualization to reform hospital sanitation
Nobel
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Computer Science
Frances Allen
1932 – 2020
American
Discovery
Pioneered optimizing compiler techniques and program analysis for high-performance and parallel computing
Nobel
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Pharmacology and Biochemistry
Gertrude B. Elion
1918 – 1999
American
Discovery
Developed rational drug-design methods and treatments for leukemia and other diseases
Nobel
🏅 Nobel Laureate
Computer Science
Grace Hopper
1906 – 1992
American
Discovery
Advanced compiler development and machine-independent programming languages
Nobel
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Invention and Communications
Hedy Lamarr
1914 – 2000
Austrian and American
Discovery
Co-invented a frequency-hopping communication system
Nobel
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Pediatric Cardiology
Helen Brooke Taussig
1898 – 1986
American
Discovery
Helped develop the Blalock-Taussig shunt for children with cyanotic congenital heart disease
Nobel
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Astronomy
Henrietta Swan Leavitt
1868 – 1921
American
Discovery
Discovered the period-luminosity relationship of Cepheid variable stars
Nobel
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Mathematics and Applied Mathematics
Ingrid Daubechies
1954 – Present
Belgian and American
Discovery
Developed compactly supported orthogonal wavelets used in signal and image processing
Nobel
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Primatology and Anthropology
Jane Goodall
1934 – Present
British
Discovery
Long-term field observations transformed understanding of chimpanzee behavior
Nobel
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Computer Science and Programming Languages
Jean E. Sammet
1928 – 2017
American
Discovery
Developed FORMAC and contributed to the development and standardization of COBOL
Nobel
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Mathematics and Mathematical Logic
Julia Robinson
1919 – 1985
American
Discovery
Made decisive contributions to the solution of Hilbert’s Tenth Problem
Nobel
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Computer Science and Information Retrieval
Karen Spärck Jones
1935 – 2007
British
Discovery
Developed inverse document frequency, a foundational idea in information retrieval and search ranking
Nobel
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Biochemistry and mRNA Technology
Katalin Karikó
1955 – Present
Hungarian and American
Discovery
Developed nucleoside-base modifications that enabled effective mRNA vaccines
Nobel
🏅 Nobel Laureate
Mathematics and Aerospace
Katherine Johnson
1918 – 2020
American
Discovery
Calculated and verified flight trajectories for early United States space missions
Nobel
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Neuroscience and Molecular Biology
Linda B. Buck
1947 – Present
American
Discovery
Discovered odorant receptors and helped explain how the olfactory system recognizes smells
Nobel
🏅 Nobel Laureate
Nuclear Physics
Lise Meitner
1878 – 1968
Austrian and Swedish
Discovery
Provided the physical explanation of nuclear fission with Otto Frisch
Nobel
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Computer Science and Programming Languages
Lois Haibt
1934 – Present
American
Discovery
Helped develop the first FORTRAN compiler at IBM
Nobel
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Computer Engineering
Lynn Conway
1938 – 2024
American
Discovery
Co-developed influential VLSI design methods that transformed microchip design and education
Nobel
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Astronomy and Cosmology
Margaret Geller
1947 – Present
American
Discovery
Mapped the large-scale structure of the universe and helped identify the CfA2 Great Wall
Nobel
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Theoretical Physics
Maria Goeppert Mayer
1906 – 1972
German and American
Discovery
Developed the nuclear shell model
Nobel
🏅 Nobel Laureate
Solar Energy and Engineering
Mária Telkes
1900 – 1995
Hungarian and American
Discovery
Pioneered solar thermal energy systems, including solar heating, thermal storage, desalination, and cooking
Nobel
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Physics and Chemistry
Marie Curie
1867 – 1934
Polish and French
Discovery
Pioneering research on radioactivity; discovery of polonium and radium
Nobel
🏅 Nobel Laureate
Paleontology
Mary Anning
1799 – 1847
British
Discovery
Recovered and identified major marine reptile fossils from the Jurassic coast
Nobel
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Computer Science and Education
Mary Kenneth Keller
1913 – 1985
American
Discovery
Pioneered computer science education and helped expand access to computing
Nobel
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Neuroscience
May-Britt Moser
1963 – Present
Norwegian
Discovery
Co-discovered grid cells that form part of the brain’s positioning and navigation system
Nobel
🏅 Nobel Laureate
Genetics and Cytology
Nettie Stevens
1861 – 1912
American
Discovery
Demonstrated the chromosomal basis of sex determination
Nobel
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Mathematics and Mathematical Physics
Olga Ladyzhenskaya
1922 – 2004
Russian
Discovery
Made fundamental advances in partial differential equations, especially the mathematical theory of fluid dynamics
Nobel
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Marine Biology and Environmental Science
Rachel Carson
1907 – 1964
American
Discovery
Documented ecological harms caused by indiscriminate pesticide use
Nobel
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Computer Science and Network Engineering
Radia Perlman
1951 – Present
American
Discovery
Designed the Spanning Tree Protocol for reliable Ethernet network bridging
Nobel
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Neuroscience
Rita Levi-Montalcini
1909 – 2012
Italian
Discovery
Co-discovered nerve growth factor
Nobel
🏅 Nobel Laureate
Chemistry and Molecular Biology
Rosalind Franklin
1920 – 1958
British
Discovery
X-ray diffraction research crucial to understanding DNA structure
Nobel
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Medical Physics and Endocrinology
Rosalyn Yalow
1921 – 2011
American
Discovery
Co-developed radioimmunoassay for measuring tiny concentrations of hormones and other biological substances
Nobel
🏅 Nobel Laureate
Mathematics
Sofya Kovalevskaya
1850 – 1891
Russian
Discovery
Made foundational contributions to partial differential equations and the mathematical theory of rotating bodies
Nobel
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Computer Engineering and Computing
Sophie Wilson
1957 – Present
British
Discovery
Co-designed the BBC Micro and the ARM processor architecture
Nobel
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Chemistry and Materials Science
Stephanie Kwolek
1923 – 2014
American
Discovery
Discovered the liquid-crystalline polymer solution that led to Kevlar
Nobel
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Pharmaceutical Chemistry
Tu Youyou
1930 – Present
Chinese
Discovery
Discovered artemisinin as an effective treatment for malaria
Nobel
🏅 Nobel Laureate
Astronomy
Vera Rubin
1928 – 2016
American
Discovery
Galaxy rotation studies supplied major evidence for dark matter
Nobel
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Museum Collection
Every profile is an exhibit.
Each scientist is presented as a museum exhibit that combines biography, discovery, historical context and lasting scientific impact.