Scientists working in a large lab ()
Mary Anning (1799-1847): Paleontologist
Mary Anning grew up on the coast of England. She and her brother found the first skeleton of an Ichthyosaurus. She also found the first Plesiosaurus and a Pterosaur. Her fossils helped support the new sciences of paleontology and geology.
Did you know? You can see Mary Anning’s fossils at the Natural History Museum in London.
Edward Bouchet (1852-1918): Physicist
Edward Bouchet (Boo-shay) studied physics at Yale University. He studied light as it bends going through glass. Then, he taught physics and chemistry at the oldest historically Black university in America. He was the first Black person to earn a Ph.D. in America. A Ph.D. is the highest degree awarded at any college.
Did you know? There are many scholarships and awards named after Edward Bouchet.
Ynés Mexía (1870-1938): Botanist
Ynés Mexía (Ee-nez meh-Hee-uh) traveled all over North and South America collecting thousands of plants and taking pictures. She discovered 500 new species. They were used to understand ecosystems. Her adventures were sometimes dangerous. She would camp and traveled alone by canoe and horseback.
Did you know? She was a member of the Sierra Club, the first environmental group in the U.S.
Rosalind Franklin (1920-1958): Chemist
Rosalind Franklin studied how things like viruses and carbon are made of small molecules. She was part of the team that discovered how our DNA is structured. DNA is the code inside your body that makes you unique. She used x-rays to take the very first clear pictures of DNA.
Did you know? There is an asteroid named for Rosalind Franklin, the 9241 Rosfranklin.
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (1910-1995): Astronomer
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (Sue-bruh-mun-yun Chun-dra-shay-ker) started studying physics in college when he was only 14. He discovered the end of a star’s life cycle. The Chandrasekhar Limit is the theory he created to explain why stars become white dwarfs, neutron stars or black holes. He won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1983.
Did you know? The Chandra X-ray observatory is named for him. See its beautiful pictures at chandra.harvard.edu.
Nianshuang Wang (1986 - ): Biologist
Nianshuang Wang (Nyahn-shwahng Wahn-g) works in a lab in the U.S.A. He researches how our bodies fight off illness. To do this, he studies how viruses are structured. That information is used to make vaccines. His research helped his team of scientists figure out how to create the vaccine against coronavirus.
Did you know? He is from a small town in China where his parents are farmers.
