The Hidden Giants: 4000 Years of Women in Science

Science is a traditional role for women. For over 4,000 years of written history women have participated in this great human adventure. Science an technology are neither new nor difficult for women any more than they are for men. The stories of many of our scientists do not form part of our instruction in science from kindergarten through college. Missing from out textbooks and data are the fundamental contributions of scientists, both male and female, but especially female. Female creativity and genius fill our technical past. The stories of these women not only provide role models for future scientists, but also they strengthen and broaden our ability to deal with the present.
- Preface to The Hidden Giants

Dr. Sethanne Howard has let me know about her book, The Hidden Giants, which is based on her excellent web site, 4000 Years of Women in Science.

Dr. Howard knows firsthand what it's like to be a female scientist. In 1965 she became the first woman to receive a physics degree from the University of California at Davis, and went on to receive a PhD in astrophysics from Georgia State University. She recently retired as Chief of the Nautical Almanac Office at the US Naval Observatory. You can listen to a brief interview with Howard on the January 2nd, 2007 episode of The Current on CBC Radio (Part 3, starting at about 16:00).

The Hidden Giants is available through Amazon.com and Lulu.com, which also has a downloadable e-book version. A preview of the text is available on Google books.

Tags: Sethanne Howard, The Hidden Giants, women in science, women's history

Four Thousand Years of Women in Science

4000 Years of Women in Science is a database of women scientists from ancient Egypt, Greece, China and India to the 20th Century. You can browse by date, name or field of study.

The biographies are very brief, but would make great jumping-off point for further research.

Illustration: Merit Ptah, Egyptian physician, ~2700 BCE (image from Wikipedia_.

Tags: history, women in science

Women Pioneers in Plant Biology

The American Society of Plant Biologists has a site dedicated to Women Pioneers in Plant Biology.

Recognizing that plant physiology was an area of study that very few women actively pursued until the 1980s, the Women on Plant Biology Committee would like to acknowledge those women who were pioneers in studying plants and how they work. Their research areas are very diverse: genetics, biochemistry, structure, as well as physiology. Their education, training, and career paths are also diverse. However, as witnessed by the biographies written by former students, fellow researchers, admirers, or good friends, each of these women has contributed to the broad field of plant physiology, and we are grateful to them.

The Their biographies span one thousand years, starting with Hildegard of Bingen, born in 1098.to current professor emeritas Lynn Margulis.