Ada E Yonath
Ada E Yonath is a biochemist and structural chemist, who earned her Ph.D. from the Weizmann Institute of Science in X-ray crystallographic studies on the structure of collagen.
Category Archives: Science
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Aglaonice
Aglaonice is considered the first female astronomer in ancient Greece, regarded for her knowledge of the moon and its cycles. Plutarch wrote that she was “thoroughly acquainted with the periods of the full moon when it is subject to eclipse, and, knowing beforehand the time when the moon was due to be overtaken by the earth’s shadow, imposed upon the women, and made them all believe that she was drawing down the moon.”
Thelma Rittenhouse Wood-Lorz
Thelma R. Wood was an American zoologist who worked as a genetics assistant at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (1924-30). Her experience there inspired her to pursue graduate work at Brown University, where she worked as a biology assistant (1930-39) while she earned her Masters in 1932 and doctorate in 1938. She was particularly interested in researchin the genetics and life history of members of the Cladocera genus (tiny crustaceans commonly called water fleas), especially the single-celled organism Daphnia longispina.
Dr Yin May
Yin May, the first Burmese obstetrician and gynecologist, founded and ran the country’s main maternity hospital during the Japanese occupation of Burma. She was the first person to perform the Caesarian section in Burma and is known for her research on amoebic vaginitis, also called May’s disease.
While pregnant and separated from her family, Yin May founded the country’s primary maternity hospital during the Japanese occupation (1942–1945), working long hours with staff who had no OB/GYN experience. Burma had lost its main maternity hospital, Lady Dufferin Maternity Hospital, on 25 December 1941 due to Japanese aerial bombing and then the Japanese army commandeered Rangoon General Hospital for their use only. She later co-founded wartime medical and nursing schools (1943–1945). After World Wai II, she ran Lady Dufferin Maternity Hospital from 1946 to 1959, and was head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the Faculty of Medicine of Rangoon University from 1947 to 1959. Under her leadership, Dufferin became a maternity hospital recognized by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in 1957.
Dr Yin Yin Nwe
Dr Yin Yin Nwe is a geologist who has held signficant positions with UNICEF since 1991, and was appointed UNICEF Representative to China on 1 December 2006, retiring in 2011.
Angélique du Coudray
In 1759, French king Louis XV launched a project to reduce infant mortality in the country and commissioned Parisian midwife Angélique du Coudray to train peasant women as midwifes. From 1760 to 1783, she trained approximately 10,000 women across France, visiting poor women in rural areas and sharing her extensive knowledge with them.
Dr Dian Fossey
Dr Dian Fossey was one of the world’s leading experts on primatology (the study of primates) and spent 18 years in African mountain forests studying gorillas. Fossey conducted the majority of her zoological research in the Congo jungle and Rwandan forests. In addition to anti-poaching activism, she pioneered scientific discoveries about gorilla societal structure. Her best-selling book, Gorillas In The Mist, was later adapted into a film. Her 1985 murder remains unsolved. She also reportedly tortured her enemies, kidnapped their children, and killed their livestock, along with lesser retaliatory acts. She was also known to be racist to the local Rwandans.
Ada Armytage
Ada’s photographs and her sisters’ diaries, letters and journals make up the Armytage family archive, which preserves the significant moment in history.
Thung Sin Nio
Betsy Thung Sin Nio was an Indonesian-Dutch women’s rights activist, medical doctor, economist and politician.
Shya Chitaley
Shyamala “Shya” Chitaley was an Indian-American paleobotanist.