Helen Plum Library

"Illustrated book with profiles of the men and women who have revolutionized science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics, with a focus on their accomplishments that were "firsts" in their fields."--

Eighteenth-century mathematician and astronomer Benjamin Banneker was widely known and respected in his time. Most of what he knew, he taught himself. His letter to Thomas Jefferson asked the future president to reconsider his racial prejudices. Learn about Banneker, who abolitionists would use as proof that people of any race can be equally intelligent

"Vera Rubin was one of the astronomers who discovered and named dark matter, the thing that keeps the universe hanging together. Throughout her career she was never taken seriously as a scientist because she was one of the only female astronomers at that time, but she didn't let that stop her. She made groundbreaking and incredibly significant discoveries that scientists have only recently been able to really appreciate-and she changed the way that...

"A collection of profiles of some of history's most fascinating female scientists."--

An engaging portrait of an autistic young woman who became, through timely mentoring and sheer force of will, one of America's most remarkable success stories

From the ancient world to the present women have been critical to the progress of science, yet their importance is overlooked, their stories lost, distorted, or actively suppressed. Forces of Nature sets the record straight and charts the fascinating history of women's discoveries in science. In the ancient and medieval world, women served as royal physicians and nurses, taught mathematics, studied the stars, and practiced midwifery. As natural philosophers,...

"A collection of biographies of twenty groundbreaking women scientists who were curious kids and grew up to make incredible discoveries."--

"...Dr. Vincent Di Maio and veteran crime writer Ron Franscell guide us behind the morgue doors to tell a fascinating life story through the cases that have made Di Maio famous--from the exhumation of assassin Lee Harvey Oswald to the complex issues in the shooting of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin. Beginning with his street-smart Italian origins in Brooklyn, the book spans 40 years of work and more than 9,000 autopsies, and Di Maio's eventual rise...

"In this luminous memoir, an MIT astrophysicist must reinvent herself in the wake of tragedy and discovers the power of connection on this planet, even as she searches our galaxy for another Earth. Sara Seager has always been in love with the stars: so many lights in the sky, so much possibility. Now a pioneering planetary scientist, she searches for exoplanets--especially that distant, elusive world that sustains life. But with the unexpected death...

"This brand-new series highlights some of the major contributions women have made in the world of science. Did you know that the technology behind cell phones was based on an idea developed during World War II by the Hollywood star Heddy Lamar to prevent the enemy intercepting radio messages? The computer and other electronic devices have changed life dramatically over the last 70 years-and many of the key breakthroughs in technology were made by...