DAY TWO
NETTIE STEVENS
Nettie Maria Stevens was born in 1861 in Cavendish, Vermont. She always excelled in school and began teaching high school zoology, physiology, and mathematics by the time she was 19. In 1896, Stevens enrolled in Stanford University and received her both her B.A. and M.A. there. Her PhD at Bryn Mawr College was on the regeneration of primitive multicellular organisms, development of sperm and eggs, and cell division in sea urchins and worms.
After graduating, Stevens became one of the first American women to be recognized for her incredible contributions to science. Her research helped expand knowledge in genetics, cytology, and embryology. Her greatest discovery was her experiment on germ cells in 1905 that revealed that chromosomes have a role in sex determination during development. Stevens’s evidence contributed to Mendelian’s eventual chromosomal theory of inheritance.
Unfortunately, her evidence for the chromosomal theory of inheritance was not accepted at the time of her discovery. Edmund Wilson, another researcher, discovered similar findings around the same time and was well received and applauded for his discovery. Now we know that Stevens’s discovery was correct and her discoveries continue to impact the scientific community today.
MAE C. JEMISON
Mae Carol Jemison was born in 1956 in Decatur, Alabama but moved to Chicago, Illinois when she was three years old. Her first interactions with science were through studying nature. Though her parents were supportive of her interest in science, her teachers often encouraged her to become a nurse rather than a scientist.
At only 16 years old, Jemison enrolled in Stanford University to study chemical engineering. She then got her M.D. at Cornell Medical School in 1981 and spent time travelling to Cuba, Kenya, and Thailand to provide medical care to those living there. After graduating again, Jemison joined the Peace Corps and was able to provide lifesaving medical attention and evacuation for a volunteer dying from meningitis.
After Sally Ride going into space in 1983 and seeing African American actress Nichelle Nichols on Star Trek, Jemison was inspired to apply for the astronaut program. Finally, in 1986, Mae C. Jemison was accepted into NASA. Her only space mission was from September 12 to 20 in 1992 as a Mission Specialist. With this trip, Jemison became the first African American woman into space!
After resigning in 1993, Jemison began teaching at Cornell University and Dartmouth College. She continues to support minority involvement and interest in the sciences as well as the arts. Whether it’s founding companies and foundations or writing books or appearing in tv shows, Jemison can’t stop changing the world for the better.
HEDY LAMARR
Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler, better known as Hedy Lamarr, was born in 1914 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary. She initially pursued a career in acting, first as an extra before slowly working her way up to starring in the controversial film, Ecstasy. At only age 18, Lamarr played a neglected wife who was shown orgasming and in the nude. The content shocked many viewers and was even banned in America and Germany for its overt sexuality.
Lamarr’s first marriage was at age 18 to the rich Friedrich Mandl who was 15 years her senior. Eventually, this marriage became intolerable, and she fled to Paris. Then, in London, she met Louis B. Mayer, head of MGM, who signed her on and jumpstarted her career in Hollywood.
Although Hedy Lamarr had always been interested in scientific inventions, her passion turned into a need during World War II. During this time, she learned that radio-controlled torpedoes could be jammed with disruptive frequencies. Lamarr and her pianist friend, George Antheil, worked together to develop a device that created frequency-hopping signals that could not be tracked or jammed. They eventually got a patent for their invention, but it was not well received at the time. Finally, in 1962, it was updated and used by the U.S. Navy. This technology was also influential in creating the bluetooth technology which we use today. They received the Electronic Frontier Foundation Pioneer Award and were posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
JENNIFER EBERHARDT
Jennifer Eberhardt was born in 1965 in Cleveland, Ohio. She works as a social psychologist and professor at Stanford University where she studies the mechanisms and effects of racial biases in criminal justice. Her work details how people judge and profile others based on race which creates inequalities in the criminal justice system.
Her work on stereotypes and criminal sentencing granted her the MacArthur Genius Award in 2014. Eberhardt works with police departments to improve policies and training that acknowledges racial profiling and the current perceptions of the racial compositions of prisons.
Jennifer Eberhardt’s work has greatly impacted the way that police departments and law students understand implicit bias in regard to race and criminality. Her published works are endless and her book lists will likely continue to grow as this powerhouse continues to change the way people understand their biases.