What is the legacy of Dorothy Hodgkin, both on the study of structure on an atomic scale and for women in science?
By Ruqayyah Haq
“I [Dorothy Hodgkin] was captured for life by chemistry and by crystals". Hodgkin was first exposed to these two captivating topics at age 10, she was encouraged by a friend of her parents (Dr A.F. Joseph) who gave her chemicals to analyse when she and her parents went to visit him. Her interest grew and she went against the social gender norm, later attending chemistry classes with the boys at school. Eventually this led to her choosing to study chemistry at the University of Oxford and after she went on to complete a PhD at the University of Cambridge. Hodgkin evidently academically excelled in science- it was when she attended a special course in crystallography (a combination of maths, physics and chemistry) where she was inspired to continue research in Xray Crystallography, the physical science of x-ray. In order to do this she moved to Oxford as a research fellow where she began her independent research career in 1934.
Due to her motivation to understand Crystallography, Dr. Hodgkin was able to make important discoveries in different areas of science. These discoveries have each made a positive change for society:
In 1935
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She has made a positive change in society and has made many pivotal discoveries. She was a remarkable, talented and honourable woman who deserves recognition and admiration especially from those who feel as though they are disadvantaged in comparison to other people. In contrast, for women in science she provides a platform of confidence. Being a woman who achieved so many great things, she now has a legacy which she is remembered by and it's really quite remarkable how far she came. Young women can use Dorothy Hodgkin as a role model and not only that, but a symbol of perseverance. I know I
Being a woman can be hard when attempting to meet the same qualifications as men. Women tend to be discriminated against because of their gender. One woman in particular showed her strength in the chemistry field. Ruth Benerito was one of the many female chemists who changed the cotton industry forever. Education was usually related to men.
Henrietta Lacks if often considered the “Mother of Medicine” because her cells allowed the study of human cells and their reaction to pathogens entering the body. Although her cells were sampled and cultured without her consent, a positive result derived from something that should not have occurred. If her cells had not been sampled during her cervical cancer surgery, the advancement in finding cures would have been delayed and the number of lives lost to these diseases would have increased. A woman without much recognition and a low society class label, has left an unintentional mark on this earth with her immortal
Stephanie Louis Kwolek was born on July 31, 1923, in New Kensington, Pennsylvania. She died on June 18, 2014, in Wilmington, Delaware at the age of ninety. Her father had a great interest in science, and when he died when she was ten, she took up her father’s interest in natural science. She also had her mother’s love of fabrics and sewing. Kwolek had strong interests in teaching, chemistry, and medicine. Even though she had had her eye on medical school, she graduated from Margaret Morrison Carnegie College--the women’s college for Carnegie Mellon University--with a degree in chemistry when she was twenty three. After she graduated, she quickly got a job as a chemist at DuPont Chemicals in Buffalo, New York. She loved doing her research at DuPont, so she decided to give up her dreams for medical school and work in the field of chemistry. She moved to Wilmington, Delaware, four years later, where she continued work for DuPont, and remained working for them for the rest of her career.
Before starting my research, I had to pick my topic. I knew that I wanted to research a woman whose actions or discoveries are still impacting our society today. After looking through many candidates, I came across Hedy Lamarr, women who developed the technology responsible for most of our communication devices such as, Wi-Fi, military radios, and much other wireless gear. She was a powerful woman who possessed not only beauty but elegance and intelligence. These characteristics she possessed made me very intrigued to learn more about her and her accomplishments.
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Do you want to hear about a woman scientist who lived for 101 years? Well, her name is Alice Hamilton. She was born in 1869 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and died in 1970. She was an American pathologist. She worked to promote safer working conditions in industry. She conducted studies and did research for the state of Illinois, the U.S. government, and the League of Nations. Also, she became the first female faculty member at the Harvard Medical School (1919-1935).
In 1903 Marie Curie made history when she became the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize in physics. She won the award along with Pierre and Henri Becquerel. The award was towards their work on radioactivity. Both Marie and Pierre
Many people have heard of Marie Curie at one point in their lives, the vast majority have probably heard her name in a science class, but fail to recognize her true contribution to mankind. Her hard work and dedication to her passion has saved numerous people. Cancer is now treatable, along with
Marie Curie once said “nothing in life is to be feared: it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more so that we may fear less.” Her words are very relevant to the contributions she did to today’s society. Marie was very persistent and dedicated when it came to her work that she even risked her health to pursue her studies. She was one of the first scientists to work with radioactivity and she, along with her husband, discovered two elements of the periodic table, polonium and radium. Marie went through a couple obstacles but was able to complete her studies and pursue her dreams, making a big impact.
She discovered the opiate receptor that would begin the science category of psychoneuroimmunology. She discovered this at the John Hopkins medical building as a graduate student. She was under the supervision of Sol Snyder who allowed her to focus on finding the receptor. She was taken off of the project but she continued to search, knowing the risks if she were caught, and miraculously found what she has looking for with the substance
At the end of Hodgkin’s first year at Cambridge, Somerville offered her a research fellowship. During the research fellowship, she would spend one year at Cambridge and another at Oxford. She has spent most of her life at Oxford as a Official Fellow and Tutor that taught in Natural Science. In 1946, Hodgkin became a University lecturer and reader in x-ray crystallography. (Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin, 2017). In her time she was known as being one of the best crystallography, despite having rheumatoid arthritis. (PBS, 1998). Along with teaching classes, she was also worked in the Department of Mineralogy and Crystallography where she worked with H.L. Bowman. Sadly, the department was divided into different groups, but Hodgkin decided to keep working in one of the smaller groups, Chemical Crystallography (Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin,
discovered polonium and radium. They also will learn of her contributions to the installation of X-ray machines and the purposes they served in World War I. This is important because in our society today, science is a male dominated field. However, by using Marie Curie as an example, young girls may realize it is possible to be successful in science and make significant contributions.
If someone did not like her I would not believe them. She inspires me because with her diagnosis, she is still able to do the things that she loves to do. Nothing is suppose to stop you from what you love doing even if that thing happens to be lupus or anything else for that matter. She has done a lot of work to do what she can for people because she knows the struggles that her parents went through. She knows how difficult it was. A lot of people know that feeling as well as she does. Even though she is rich, she is still able to give back. What makes you a good person is that you do not just think of yourself, but you think of others as well. She does think that inspire people to do the same thing that she does. She inspires teens to not only think of themselves, but others as well. There are probably millions of reason why she is a great person and why she inspires many people. I just wouldn’t be able to name all of