Stephanie Kwolek was born on July 31, 1923. She grew up in New Kensington, Pennsylvania. As a child Stephanie was good with animals and was very interested in science. Her mother taught her how to sew. She went to elementary, high school, and then to college to be a scientist of some sort - maybe a doctor. Her father died at age 40 from a heart attack. Her father, John, was important to her because he inspired her to be a scientist. Her mother was important because she taught Kwolek how to sew. Her brother, Stanley, was important because he was with her when they were taken to the hospital to say good-bye to their father.
Kwolek is known for inventing Kevlar. Kevlar is mostly used in bulletproof vests that policemen wear. It is also used in the military and saves lives. Without Kevlar being in the police force would be a lot more dangerous and the military would be a lot harder to survive and win wars. It is also used in fire suits because it is fireproof.
She won the National Medal of Technology in 1996. Kwolek was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame and then Hall of Fame of National Women in 2003. She won over 30 awards.
Some things that it hard for her was that her family lived during the Great Depression and were very poor. Her father died of a heart attack at age 40. She went to college to be a scientist which was rare to see a female scientist in those days and was hard.
Three interesting facts are, Kwolek never married, she was strongly influenced by Marie Curie and wanted to follow in her footsteps of discovery and innovation, and Kwolek's mother wanted her to be a fashion designer at first.
Kwolek is known for inventing Kevlar. Kevlar is mostly used in bulletproof vests that policemen wear. It is also used in the military and saves lives. Without Kevlar being in the police force would be a lot more dangerous and the military would be a lot harder to survive and win wars. It is also used in fire suits because it is fireproof.
She won the National Medal of Technology in 1996. Kwolek was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame and then Hall of Fame of National Women in 2003. She won over 30 awards.
Some things that it hard for her was that her family lived during the Great Depression and were very poor. Her father died of a heart attack at age 40. She went to college to be a scientist which was rare to see a female scientist in those days and was hard.
Three interesting facts are, Kwolek never married, she was strongly influenced by Marie Curie and wanted to follow in her footsteps of discovery and innovation, and Kwolek's mother wanted her to be a fashion designer at first.