Marie Curie

Discovered polonium and radium, first person to win two Nobel Prizes (Physics and Chemistry).

1867-1934

Known for Discovering polonium and radium, Researching radioactivity

Fields: Physics, Chemistry

Awards: Davy Medal (1903), Nobel Prize in Physics (1903), Matteucci Medal (1904), Actonian Prize (1907), Elliott Cresson Medal (1909), Albert Medal (1910), Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1911), Willard Gibbs Award (1921), John Scott Medal (1921), Cameron Prize for Therapeutics of the University of Edinburgh (1931)

Isaac Newton

Invented calculus, explained gravity, wore a wig with confidence.

1643-1727

Known for Newtonian mechanics, universal gravitation, calculus, Newton's laws of motion, optics, binomial series, Principia, Newton's method, Newton's law of cooling, Newton's identities, Newton's metal, Newton line, Newton–Gauss line, Newtonian fluid, Newton's rings

Fields: Physics, natural philosophy, alchemy, theology, mathematics, astronomy, economics

Awards: Fellow of the Royal Society (1672), Knight Bachelor (1705)

Charles Darwin

Developed the theory of evolution by natural selection.

1809-1882

Known for Natural selection

Fields: Natural history, Geology

Awards: FRS (1839), Royal Medal (1853), Wollaston Medal (1859), Copley Medal (1864), Pour le Mérite (1867), Baly Medal (1879)

Louis Pasteur

Invented pasteurization and the rabies vaccine.

1822-1895

Known for Anthrax vaccine, Cholera vaccine, Rabies vaccine, Chirality, Dextran, Fermentation theory, Galactose, Germ theory of disease, Kinetic resolution, Koch–Pasteur rivalry, Liebig–Pasteur dispute, Pasteurization, Pasteur effect, Pasteur pipette, Pasteur–Chamberland filter, Racemic acid, Spontaneous generation, Swan neck flask, Stereochemistry, Zymology

Fields: Biology, Microbiology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics

Awards: Legion of Honor Grand Cross (1881), Rumford Medal (1856), Copley Medal (1874), Albert Medal (1882), Cameron Prize for Therapeutics of the University of Edinburgh (1889), Leeuwenhoek Medal (1895), Order of the Medjidie

Gregor Mendel

Father of genetics (and also a monk who really loved peas).

1822-1884

Known for Founder of the modern science of genetics

Fields: Genetics

Katalin Karikó

Developed mRNA technology used in COVID-19 vaccines.

b. 17 January 1955

Known for mRNA technology in immunology and therapies

Fields: Biochemistry, RNA technologies

Awards: Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (2023)

Jennifer Doudna

Co-inventor of CRISPR, gene-editing pioneer.

b. February 19, 1964

Known for First X-ray based structure of catalytic RNA, RNA interference, CRISPR

Fields: Chemistry

Awards: Alan T. Waterman Award (2000), Jacob Heskel Gabbay Award (2014), Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences (2015), Princess of Asturias Award (2015), Tang Prize in Biopharmaceutical Science (2016), Japan Prize (2017), Kavli Prize in Nanoscience (2018), Wolf Prize in Medicine (2020), Nobel Prize in Chemistry (2020)

Emmanuelle Charpentier

Co-winner of the Nobel Prize for CRISPR work alongside Doudna.

b. 11 December 1968

Known for CRISPR

Fields: Microbiology, Genetics, Biochemistry

Awards: Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine (2015), Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences (2015), Princess of Asturias Award (2015), Tang Prize in Biopharmaceutical Science (2016), Canada Gairdner International Award (2016), Leibniz Prize (2016), Pour le Mérite (2017), Japan Prize (2017), The Novozymes Prize (2017), Kavli Prize in Nanoscience (2018), Wolf Prize in Medicine (2020), Nobel Prize in Chemistry (2020)

Frances Arnold

Pioneered directed evolution; Nobel Prize-winning chemical engineer.

b. July 25, 1956

Known for pioneering directed evolution of enzymes

Fields: Chemical engineering, Bioengineering, Biochemistry

Awards: Garvan–Olin Medal (2005), FASEB Excellence in Science Award (2007), Draper Prize (2011), National Medal of Technology and Innovation (2013), Millennium Technology Prize (2016), Sackler Prize in Convergence Research (2017), Nobel Prize in Chemistry (2018)

Tu Youyou

Discovered artemisinin, a key anti-malaria drug, saving millions of lives.

b. 30 December 1930

Known for Discovering artemisinin and dihydroartemisinin

Fields: Medicinal chemistry, Chinese herbology, Antimalarial medication, Clinical research

Awards: Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award (2011), Warren Alpert Foundation Prize (2015), Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (2015), Highest Science and Technology Award, China (2016), Medal of the Republic, China (2019)

Santiago Ramón y Cajal

Mapped the nervous system, father of modern neuroscience.

1852-1934

Known for Fathering modern neuroscience, Discovery of the neuron, Cajal body, Cajal–Retzius cell, Interstitial cell of Cajal, Neuron doctrine, Growth cone, Dendritic spine, Long-term potentiation, Mossy fiber, Neurotrophic theory, Axo-axonic synapse, Pioneer axon, Pyramidal cell, Radial glial cell, Retinal ganglion cell, Trisynaptic circuit, Visual map theory

Fields: Neuroscience, Pathology, Histology

Awards: Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1906)

Oliver Sacks

Neurologist and author who humanized neurodivergence.

1933-2015

Known for Non-fiction books about his psychiatric and neurological patients

Fields: Neurology and psychology

Awards: Music Has Power Award in 2006

Brenda Milner

Cognitive neuroscience pioneer, studied memory and brain function.

b. 15 July 1918

Known for Study of memory and cognition; Work with patient H.M.

Fields: Neuropsychology

Awards: Companion of the Order of Canada, Karl Spencer Lashley Award (1979), NAS Award in the Neurosciences (2004), Gairdner Award (2005), Balzan Prize for Cognitive Neurosciences (2009), Kavli Prize in Neuroscience (2014)

Eric Kandel

Explored how memories are stored in the brain.

b. November 7, 1929

Known for Physiology of learning and memory

Fields: Psychiatry, Psychoanalysis and Neuroscience

Awards: Karl Spencer Lashley Award (1981), Dickson Prize (1983), Lasker Award (1983), National Medal of GSS (1988), Harvey Prize (1993), Wolf Prize in Medicine (1999), Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (2000)

Temple Grandin

Innovated livestock handling and championed autism understanding.

b. August 29, 1947

Known for Livestock industry consultancy, Autism rights activism

Fields: Animal science

Awards: USA TODAY's 2025 Women of the Year

George Washington Carver

Promoted sustainable farming and crop rotation.

1864-1943

Known for promotion of alternative crops to cotton and methods to prevent soil depletion

Fields: Agricultural Science, Botany, Chemistry, Art

Awards: Spingarn Medal (1923)

Rachel Carson

Marine biologist and author of Silent Spring, kicked off modern environmentalism.

1907-1964

Known for pioneering marine biology, conservationist, and the author who launched the modern environmental movement

Fields: Marine Biology, Zoology, Environmental Science, Writing and Communication of Science

Awards: National Book Award for Nonfiction (1952), John Burroughs Medal (1952), New York Zoological Society Gold Medal (1952), Presidential Medal of Freedom (1980)

Norman Borlaug

Father of the Green Revolution; helped save over a billion lives through agricultural science.

1914-2009

Known for Green Revolution, World Food Prize

Fields: Agronomy, Plant pathology, Genetics

Awards: Nobel Peace Prize (1970), Order of the Aztec Eagle (1970), Presidential Medal of Freedom (1977), ForMemRS (1987), Vannevar Bush Award (2000), Public Welfare Medal (2002), National Medal of Science (2004), Congressional Gold Medal (2006), Padma Vibhushan (2006)

Wangari Maathai

Biologist and founder of the Green Belt Movement in Kenya.

1940-2011

Known for Green Belt Movement

Fields: Biology, Veterinary Anatomy, Environmental Science

Awards: Right Livelihood Award (1984), Nobel Peace Prize (2004), Indira Gandhi Peace Prize (2006)

Sylvia Earle

Oceanographer and explorer who helped spark marine conservation.

b. August 30, 1935

Known for being a legendary marine biologist, oceanographer, explorer, and tireless advocate for ocean conservation

Fields: Oceanography, Marine Conservation

Awards: TED Prize (2009), National Women's Hall of Fame, Doctor of Science, University of Edinburgh (2018), Princess of Asturias Awards (2018)

Lise Meitner

Co-discovered nuclear fission but got famously snubbed for the Nobel.

1878-1968

Known for Coining the name protactinium (1918), Auger–Meitner effect (1922), Discovery of nuclear fission (1938)

Fields: Nuclear physics

Awards: Lieben Prize (1925), Max Planck Medal (1949), ForMemRS (1955), Otto Hahn Prize (1955), Wilhelm Exner Medal (1960), Enrico Fermi Award (1966)

Chien-Shiung Wu

Helped disprove the law of parity in physics; experimental genius.

1912-1997

Known for Manhattan Project, Nuclear fission, Wu experiment, Parity violation, Beta decay, Quantum entanglement

Fields: Physics

Awards: Comstock Prize in Physics (1964), Bonner Prize (1975), National Medal of Science (1975), Wolf Prize in Physics (1978)

Rosalind Franklin

Took the X-ray image that helped unlock the DNA double helix.

1920-1958

Known for Structure of DNA, Fine structure of coal and graphite, Structures of viruses

Fields: Physical chemistry, X-ray crystallography

Awards: 1982 - Iota Sigma Pi designated Franklin a National Honorary Member, 1984 - St Paul's Girls School established the Rosalind Franklin Technology Centre.

Donna Strickland

Nobel Prize-winning physicist for chirped pulse amplification.

b. 27 May 1959

Known for chirped pulse amplification (CPA),

Fields: Laser Physics, Nonlinear Optics, Ultrafast Optics, Optical Physics, Photonic Applications

Awards: Nobel Prize (2018)

Katherine Johnson

NASA mathematician who calculated flight trajectories with pencil and paper precision.

1918-2020

Known for Calculating trajectories for NASA missions

Fields: Mathematics and physics

Awards: Presidential Medal of Freedom (2015), Silver Snoopy award (2016), NASA Group Achievement Award (2016), Congressional Gold Medal (2019)

Ignaz Semmelweis

Discovered handwashing saves lives (no one believed him at the time—awkward).

1818-1865

Known for introducing hand disinfection standards, in obstetrical clinics, from 1847

Fields: Obstetrics, surgeries

Joseph Lister

Introduced antiseptic surgical techniques.

1827-1912

Known for Surgical sterile techniques

Fields: Medicine

Awards: Royal Medal (1880), Cameron Prize for Therapeutics of the University of Edinburgh (1890), Albert Medal (1894), Copley Medal (1902)

Paul Farmer

Global health advocate, co-founder of Partners in Health.

1959-2022

Known for co-founded Partners In Health (PIH) in 1987

Fields: Internal medicine, Infectious disease, Medical anthropology

Awards: Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize, MacArthur Genius Grant, Public Welfare Medal, Heinz Award in the Human Condition, Berggruen Prize

Virginia Apgar

Created the Apgar Score to assess newborn health.

1909-1974

Known for Inventor of the Apgar score

Fields: Anesthesiology, teratology

Awards: Distinguished Service Award from the American Society of Anesthesiologists (1966), Elizabeth Blackwell Award, from the American Women's Medical Association (1966), Honorary doctorate, New Jersey College of Medicine and Dentistry (1967), Alumni Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (1973), Ralph M. Waters Award, American Society of Anesthesiologists (1973)

Barbara McClintock

Discovered 'jumping genes' (transposons), revolutionizing genetics.

1902-1992

Known for Work in genetic structure of maize, Breakage-fusion-bridge cycle, Chromosomal crossover, DNA transposon, Mobile genetic elements, Transposase, Transposable element

Fields: Cytogenetics (genetics scientist)

Awards: Member of the National Academy of Sciences (1944), National Medal of Science (1970), Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal (1981), Wolf Prize in Medicine (1981), Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize (1982), Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1983)

Alice Ball

Developed effective treatment for leprosy at just 23 years old (historically overlooked).

1892-1916

Known for Treatment of leprosy

Fields: Chemistry

Awards: 2022, Congressional Gold Medal

Sara Seager

Astrophysicist hunting for exoplanets and signs of life beyond Earth.

b. 21 July 1971

Known for Search for extrasolar planets

Fields: Astronomy, Planetary science

Awards: Order of Canada (2020, Officer), MacArthur Fellowship (2013), Helen B. Warner Prize (2007), Harvard Book Prize in Astronomy (2004), NSERC Science and Technology Fellowship (1990–1994)

Nergis Mavalvala

Part of the team that detected gravitational waves.

b. 1968

Known for Interferometric gravitational waves, quantum measurement

Fields: Astrophysics and Quantum Physics

Awards: 2013 Joseph F. Keithley Award For Advances in Measurement Science, MacArthur Fellows

Jean Bennett

Pioneered gene therapy for blindness.

b. 1954

Known for groundbreaking work in genetics and gene therapy, particularly related to vision restoration

Fields: Genetics, Molecular Biology, Ophthalmology / Vision Science, Gene Therapy, Translational Medicine, Neuroscience

Awards: Sanford Lorraine Cross Award, Sanford Health, 2018; António Champalimaud Vision Award, 2018; Marion Spencer Fay Award, 2018

Rita Levi-Montalcini

Nobel-winning neuroscientist who worked in hiding during WWII.

1909-2012

Known for Nerve growth factor

Fields: Neurobiology

Awards: EMBO Membership (1974), Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize (1983), Lasker Award (1986), Nobel Prize (1986), National Medal of Science (1987), ForMemRS (1995), Honorary degree in biotechnology at University of Milano-Bicocca (2008)