Today, let’s celebrate the remarkable achievements of 10 women in science and technology! Did you know that 64 women have been honored with the Nobel Prize between 1901 and 2023? Marie Curie, the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, also holds the distinction of being the first person to win two Nobel Prizes in different fields.
Marie Curie
Physics (1903) and Chemistry (1911)
Marie Curie was a physicist and chemist famous for her pioneering work in radioactivity. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the first person to win two Nobel Prizes in different fields (Physics in 1903 and Chemistry in 1911). She and her husband, Pierre Curie, discovered two new elements, polonium and radium, and she developed a theory of radioactivity. Curie’s work was fundamental to the development of nuclear physics and the understanding of atomic structure.
Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin
Chemistry (1964)
Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin was a British chemist who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1964. She is best known for her groundbreaking work in X-ray crystallography, a technique used to determine the three-dimensional structures of molecules. Using this technique, Hodgkin determined the structures of important biomolecules like penicillin and vitamin B12, leading to a better understanding of their functions in the body. She was also a pioneer in protein crystallography, and her work has significantly impacted modern molecular biology.
Gerty Cori
Physiology or Medicine (1947)
Gerty Cori was a biochemist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1947 for her discovery of how glycogen is broken down and resynthesized in the body, which has important implications for the treatment of diabetes. She was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Rosalind Franklin
Physiology or Medicine (1962)
Rosalind Franklin, a British chemist and X-ray crystallographer, made key contributions to understanding the molecular structures of DNA, RNA, viruses, coal, and graphite. While she did not receive a Nobel Prize for her work, her research was crucial to discovering the structure of DNA. Her contributions were acknowledged posthumously when her colleagues James Watson, Francis Crick, and Maurice Wilkins received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1962 for their work on the structure of DNA, which was partly based on Franklin’s research.
Maria Goeppert-Mayer
Physics (1963)
Maria Goeppert-Mayer was a German-born American physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1963. She made significant contributions to the nuclear shell model of the atomic nucleus. This model explains why certain atomic nuclei are more stable than others and is crucial for understanding their behavior. Goeppert-Mayer was the second woman to win the Nobel Prize in Physics, after Marie Curie, and the first woman to win it in over 50 years.
Rita Levi-Montalcini
Physiology or Medicine (1986)
Rita Levi-Montalcini, an Italian neurologist, won the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering nerve growth factor (NGF), a protein crucial for the growth and maintenance of nerve cells. Her groundbreaking work has significantly advanced our understanding of nervous system development and the treatment of neurological diseases. Additionally, she was a strong advocate for scientific research and education in Italy.
Gertrude B. Elion
Physiology or Medicine (1988) Gertrude B. Elion was an American biochemist and pharmacologist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1988, along with George H. Hitchings and Sir James W. Black, for their development of new drugs. Elion was instrumental in the development of drugs to treat leukemia, gout, malaria, viral herpes, and other diseases. She was also a pioneer in the field of rational drug design, which involves using knowledge of a disease’s molecular structure to design drugs that specifically target the disease. Elion was the first woman to be inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
Linda B. Buck
Physiology or Medicine (2004)
Linda B. Buck is an American biologist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2004 for her work on the olfactory system. She and her colleagues identified the family of genes responsible for the detection of different odors, and her work has had a significant impact on our understanding of the sense of smell. She is currently a faculty member at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington.
Ada Yonath
Chemistry (2009)
Ada Yonath is an Israeli crystallographer who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2009 for her work on the structure of ribosomes. She was the first woman from the Middle East to win a Nobel Prize in a scientific field, and the first woman in 45 years to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Yonath’s work has helped to improve our understanding of how antibiotics bind to ribosomes and has led to the development of new antibiotics. She is currently a professor of structural biology at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.
May-Britt Moser
Physiology or Medicine (2014)
May-Britt Moser is a Norwegian psychologist and neuroscientist who, along with her husband Edvard Moser and John O’Keefe, won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2014 for their work on the brain’s positioning system. They discovered cells in the brain responsible for its “inner GPS,” which allows us to navigate and orient ourselves in the world. Moser is currently a professor of neuroscience at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, Norway.
