Have You Heard Of... Stephanie Kwolek?

Stephanie Kwolek was a chemist.

 

Stephanie Kwolek, born in Pennsylvania in 1923 to Polish immigrant parents John and Nellie, was a creative child. She inherited an interest in nature from her father, and a love of fabrics and sewing, from her mother. Stephanie eventually became interested in chemistry and medicine, and studied chemistry at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, intending to become a doctor.

 

A ‘temporary’ job as a chemist at the chemical company DuPont was her plan to financially launch her to medical school. DuPont had introduced nylon to the world, and was engaged in the development of new, exciting, synthetic fibres that could be used in all sorts of applications and products. Stephanie found her work there with polymers so interesting, that she gave up on the thought of becoming a doctor, staying at DuPont instead, for over 40 years.

 

In the 60s, Stephanie’s team at DuPont were tasked with coming up with new synthetic fibres that could withstand extreme conditions. The process involved dissolving polyamides (fragments of fibres) and spinning the resulting clear liquids in a spinneret to make a fibre. In the process, Stephanie discovered that with polyamides exposed to certain conditions, the liquid was unusually milky and opaque.

 

Stephanie’s natural creativity and willingness to experiment came to the fore. She wanted to spin this unusual liquid. The spinneret operator was dubious, thinking it might break the machine. But it didn’t. It made, instead, a fibre resistant to heat, and five times stronger than steel – Kevlar.

 

Kevlar went on to be used in bullet proof vests and other protective clothing, saving lives. It is also used in various other uses such as sports equipment, tyres, sails, and ropes. Stephanie kept on working at Dupont until her retirement in 1986, whereupon she became a consultant, a mentor for women scientists, and was involved in programmes which encouraged girls into scientific careers.

 

The amazing and dedicated Stephanie Kwolek died, age 90, in 2014.

 

Have You Heard Of..?Trudi MurrayStephanie Kwolek1 Comment