The Lost Women of Science Initiative is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with two overarching and interrelated missions: to tell the story of female scientists who made groundbreaking achievements in their fields—yet remain largely unknown to the general public—and to inspire girls and young women to embark on careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).
An Incredible Story of Scientific Questing, Botany and Danger on the Colorado River
This is a science adventure story. Take a wild journey down the Colorado River in the company of two pioneering botanists: Elzada Clover and Lois Jotter.
Carolyn Beatrice Parker’s Work on the Manhattan Project Inspired Her Birthplace Generations Later
This Black physicist’s work on the Manhattan Project inspired a County in Florida two generations after her death
This ‘Human Computer’ Created a System for Measuring Vast Distances in Our Universe
Visual artist Anna Von Mertens looks to astronomer Henrietta Swan Leavitt and her vision of the universe for inspiration
To Develop Tamoxifen, Dora Richardson Took Her Research Underground
When chemist Dora Richardson’s employer decided to terminate the breast cancer research on the drug Tamoxifen in the early 1970s, she and her colleagues continued the work in secret.
The Forgotten Developer of Tamoxifen, a Lifesaving Breast Cancer Therapy
Her name was on the patent for tamoxifen, but Dora Richardson’s story was lost until now
Wonder Drug Explores Thalidomide’s Secret History and Harms in the U.S.
In her book Wonder Drug, Jennifer Vanderbes explores the history of thalidomide’s secret history—and harms—in the U.S.
Sixty Years Later, and Thalidomide Is Still With Us
Decades after FDA medical examiner Frances Oldham Kelsey stopped thalidomide from going on the market in the U.S., the legacy of the drug persists
Where Did All the Thalidomide Pills Distributed in the U.S. Go?
FDA medical examiner Frances Oldham Kelsey saved American lives by refusing to approve thalidomide. But millions of pills had been sent to doctors in the U.S. for so-called clinical trials
Medical Sleuthing Identified the Dangers of Thalidomide
FDA medical examiner Frances Oldham wanted data that would show that thalidomide was safe to use during pregnancy. It wasn’t
Was Thalidomide Safe? Frances Oldham Kelsey Was Not Convinced
In the U.S. in the early 1960s the distributor of a thalidomide drug was impatient to get it on the market. But FDA medical examiner Frances Oldham Kelsey wanted more information to prove its safety
The Devil in the Details, Chapter One: The Doctor Who Said No to Thalidomide
Starting with her rejection of an FDA application for thalidomide in 1960, physician and pharmacist Frances Oldham Kelsey took a stand against the now infamous drug
In Early Science Journalism, These Women Were Writing for Their Lives
Starting in the 1920s female writers pioneered the field of science writing for the mass market, making it their mission to help ordinary people understand everything from astronomy to venereal disease
This Researcher Helped Create a Machine to Pursue the ‘Quest for Everything’
Helen Edwards was a particle physicist who led the design and construction of the Tevatron, a machine built to probe deeper into the atom than anyone had gone before.
This Researcher Is on a Crusade to Correct Wikipedia’s Gender Imbalance
Physicist Jess Wade explains the importance of recognizing female scientists on Wikipedia. She’s created more than 2,000 Wikipedia articles to do just that
Nancy Hopkins and Her Tape Measure Took on M.I.T. for Discrimination
Nancy Hopkins used a commitment to justice and a tape measure to take M.I.T. to task for discrimination. The impacts of her fight are still being felt today.
The Remarkable Life of Chemistry Professor and Crime Buster Mary Louisa Willard
This chemistry professor helped police around the world solve arsons and homicides
Meet the Unknown Female Botanists Who Established the Field of Ecological Restoration
Historian and ecologist Laura J. Martin rediscovers the female scientists who established ecological restoration in her book Wild by Design
The Poetic Lives of Lost Women of Math and Science
When poet Jessy Randall saw that so many female scientists weren’t getting their due, she got mad. And then she decided to write poems for as many as she could
Elizabeth Bates and the Search for the Roots of Human Language
In the 1970s a young psychologist challenged a popular theory of how we acquire language, launching a fierce debate that continues to this day
The Theoretical Physicist Who Worked with J. Robert Oppenheimer at the Dawn of the Nuclear Age
Melba Phillips co-authored a paper with J. Robert Oppenheimer in 1935 that proved important in the development of nuclear physics. Later she became an outspoken critic of nuclear weapons
The Victorian Woman Who Chased Eclipses
Annie Maunder was an astronomer who expanded our understanding of the sun at the turn of the 20th century. Her passion was photographing eclipses.
The Forgotten Sisters Who Transformed Early American Science
The Morris sisters made significant contributions to botany and entomology, but their stories were erased from the history of early American science, both accidentally and by design.
The Cognitive Neuroscientist Who Helped Unravel the Mysteries of Language
Ursula Bellugi was fixated on how we learn language. Her groundbreaking research on sign language demonstrated the connection between language skills and biology
The Amazing Aerial Adventures of Lilian Bland, the ‘Flying Feminist’
In 1910 an Anglo-Irish woman named Lilian Bland built a plane with little to no encouragement from her family or aviation enthusiasts. Shortly after the plane took off, she quit flying and moved on to her next challenge