Stephanie Louise Kwolek was born in 1923 on the 31st of July in New Kensington, Pennsylvania. Kwolek’s father was a foundry worker who would often take her out into the forest where she would collect all kinds of different specimens such as plants and seeds and she would then place them in a scrap book in order to identify them (Selle, 2004). It was from her father that Kwolek developed her deep and passionate love for science as well as nature. Unfortunately, however, at just the young age of 10 Kwolek’s father passed away leaving a gaping hole in his absence. However, one of his other strongest influences, his love for reading, stuck with Kwolek and, coupled with the love for reading from her mother as well, Kwoleks yearning for science continued to grow on (Selle, 2004).
Throughout her life, Kwolek went through various different “vocational interests”. Robert Selle includes in his report about her, that she mentions remembering “studying hours and hours as a child designing and sewing clothing” as she originally had interests in becoming a fashion designer. Kwolek then shifted her view towards teaching. Robert Selle provides another quote where she explains that she used to “teach the neighborhood children how to read and write”. Following that interest however, she shifted over finally to what would become what she is best remembered for: a degree in chemistry. In order to pay for her college, Kwolek went to work in the DuPont’s textile chemistry laboratories in Buffalo, New York (Selle, 2004).
It was here at this laboratory that she fell in love with chemistry and all of the things she was learning and discovering that she decided to dedicate her life to it, and ultimately this led to the discovery of Kevlar. Kwolek’s experience at the company was something that was rather different, especially given the time period. The DuPont company according to Selle, was a place that had “highly intelligent colleagues and a company culture that stressed freedom and independent thought” which was a major driving point in Kwolek’s decision to stay as well as the catalyst of her discovery. While working on making long-chain molecules in order to make new polymers Kwolek made the thrilling find of a new polymer that refused to be melted down like the others. It was this discovery that led to the eventual creation of Kevlar, which is by dictionary definition “a synthetic fiber of high tensile strength used especially as a reinforcing agent in the manufacture of tires and other rubber products and protective gear such as helmets and vests” (Selle, 2004).
Her discovery has led to the creation of so many different products that include, but are most assuredly not limited to, ballistic vests, tires, firefighter’s suits, shoes, and even spacecraft parts (Selle, 2004). It was her contribution to the creation of perhaps the most versatile and strongest substance yet that lead her to be awarded on several occasions from many different platforms. The awards of note include the National Medal of Technology from President Clinton in 1996, the Perkin Medal in 1997, and the Lemelson-MIT Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999. Additionally, she was inducted into both the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Nationl Women’s Hall of Fame in 2003 (Ainsworth, 2014).
