Stephanie Kwolek

Hello, my name is Stephanie Kwolek, and I'm a chemist who discovered something amazing by accident. I was born on July 31st, 1923, in a town called New Kensington, Pennsylvania. As a little girl, I was incredibly curious. My father, who was a naturalist, taught me all about the woods, plants, and animals near our home. We would go on long walks, and he helped me fill scrapbooks with leaves, wildflowers, and seeds. From my mother, who was a seamstress, I learned about fabrics and sewing. I loved fashion and spent hours sketching my own designs. For a long time, I dreamed of becoming a doctor so I could help people, but I also loved the world of science and the feel of different fabrics. I decided to study chemistry in college, thinking it would be a good step toward medical school.

In 1946, I graduated from what is now Carnegie Mellon University with a degree in chemistry. My plan was to work for a little while to save money for medical school. I saw an advertisement for a research position at a large chemical company called DuPont. During my interview with a director named Dr. W. Hale Charch, I could tell he wasn't sure about hiring me. After we spoke, he told me he would let me know his decision in a couple of weeks. But I needed a job right away. I gathered my courage and told him that I had another offer and needed an answer soon. He was so surprised by my boldness that he called his secretary and offered me the job on the spot. I started working at DuPont's research laboratory and quickly fell in love with the work. The challenge of solving scientific puzzles was so exciting that I decided to forget about medical school and make chemistry my career.

By the 1960s, I was leading a project to create a new fiber that was lightweight but stronger than steel. The goal was to use it in tires to make them more durable. My work involved creating polymers, which are long chains of molecules, like microscopic strings of beads. To turn these polymers into a fiber, I had to dissolve them in a chemical solution to create a liquid that could be spun. In 1965, one of my experiments produced a very strange result. Instead of a clear, thick liquid like honey, I got a cloudy, thin, watery solution. It looked all wrong. My colleagues thought the experiment was a failure and told me to just throw it away. But my scientific curiosity wouldn't let me. I had a hunch that this strange solution might be something special. I had to persuade the technician who ran the spinning machine, Charles Smullen, to test it. He was worried it would clog the machine's tiny holes, but I insisted. I'm so glad I did.

When we spun that strange, cloudy liquid, out came a fiber that was truly remarkable. We began testing it, and the results were astonishing. It was incredibly stiff and strong—in fact, weight for weight, it was five times stronger than steel. It was also resistant to heat and rust. I knew we had discovered something that could change the world. It took many years and a lot of teamwork at DuPont to develop my discovery into a commercial product. The company officially named it Kevlar and introduced it to the world in 1971. It was amazing to see all the ways my invention could be used. Kevlar is now used in bullet-resistant vests that protect police officers and soldiers, in heat-proof suits for firefighters, in helmets, in airplanes, and even in sports equipment like skis and canoes. I had wanted to be a doctor to save lives, and in a way, my discovery allowed me to do just that.

I continued my research at DuPont for over 40 years before retiring in 1986. For my discovery, I received many honors. In 1995, I was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, and in 1996, I was awarded the National Medal of Technology. I always enjoyed visiting schools and talking to students, especially young girls, encouraging them to pursue their interests in science. I lived to be 90 years old. My story shows that you should always trust your curiosity, even when things don't go as planned. That strange, cloudy liquid I refused to throw away became a material that protects and saves countless lives every single day, and I couldn't be more proud of that legacy.