EN SI



  • Marie Skłodowska Curie (1867 - 1934)


  • A Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity.
  • First woman in history to win a Nobel Prize and the only person to win two Nobel Prizes in two different disciplines (chemistry and physics).
  • Rosalind Franklin (1920 – 1958)


  • A British chemist and X-ray crystallographer.
  • She contributed to the discovery of the structure of DNA.
  • Kristen Marhaver (1982 - )


  • A marine biologist studying coral reefs.
  • Her work has helped threatened coral species to survive, and much of her research looks at finding out how corals reproduce.
  • Janet Taylor (1804 –1870)


  • An English astronomer, navigation expert, mathematician, and meteorologist.
  • Designed instruments for nautical navigation.
  • Beatrice Shilling (1909 – 1990)


  • A British aeronautical engineer, motorcycle racer and sports car racer.
  • In March 1941, she solved a problem that had jeopardised the life of pilots.
  • Katherine Johnson (1918 – 2020)


  • An American mathematician.
  • In 1961, she did trajectory analysis for Alan Shepard’s Freedom 7 Mission, the first to carry an American into space.
  • Katsuko Saruhashi (1920 – 2007)


  • A Japanese geochemist.
  • She had an enormous impact on marine science as she developed the first method and tools for measuring carbon dioxide in seawater, later becoming known as ‘Saruhashi’s Table’.
  • Cindy Lee Van Dover (1954 - )


  • Professor of Biological Oceanography.
  • After receiving her Ph.D. in 1989, she then became the first female pilot of the deep-diving submersible, ALVIN. She was pilot-in-command of 48 dives.
  • Ruth D. Turner (1914 – 2000)


  • Marine scientist best known as a leading expert in shipworms. This is a group of molluscs that destroy marine vessels.
  • The most academically successful female marine researchers, publishing over 200 scientific articles and a book during her long career.
  • Nancy Knowlton (1949 – )


  • She is an American marine biologist who specializes in coral reefs.
  • Her research has helped us understand what makes corals so unique, how they form and grow, and why they are so vulnerable to disturbances like warming oceans and pollution.
  • Ruth Gates (1962 – 2018)


  • A marine biologist.
  • She researched how corals can be used to regenerate reefs that have been damaged by human activity or natural disasters like hurricanes or tsunamis.
  • Eugenia Clark, the shark lady (1922 - 2015)


  • An American ichthyologist.
  • She dived in places no one had ever gone before, including the Red Sea, where she discovered new species of marine life.
  • Sylvia Earle “Her Deepness” (1935 - )


  • A marine botanist and biologist.
  • In 1968, she descended 30 metres below the surface in a submersible vehicle. She was first female scientists to do so.
  • Nicole Dublier (1957 - )


  • A German marine microbiologist.
  • She highlighted the relationship between marine organisms and their environment. This research finding has helped us better understand how organisms survive in natural environments.
  • Roberta Eike (?-?)


  • An American oceanographer and marine geologist in the 1950s.
  • Eike secretly stowed away on one of her supervising professors' research missions, only to be discovered several hours into the voyage and physically abused as punishment.
  • Angela Piskernik (1886-1967)


  • Slovenian botanist, museologist and teacher.
  • She was the first Slovenian woman to hold a doctorate in the natural sciences. University degree was obtained in University of Vienna.
  • Ana Mayer Kansky (1895 – 1962)


  • Slovenian chemist.
  • Was the first person to obtain a doctoral degree at the University of Ljubljana and the 72nd woman in the world to obtain a doctoral degree.

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