Emma Parmee grew up in Keynsham, England, the youngest of four children. Her father was a banker, her mother a housewife. She had always liked math and science, but she also liked languages. She attended all-girls…

Uma Chowdhry grew up in Bombay (later Mumbai), India, one of three children. She attended British missionary schools, which taught in English, and became interested in science in high school. Having obtained a…

Nancy B. Jackson was born in Wisconsin, and her family moved a few times during her childhood. Jackson spent much of her teenage years in St. Louis, Missouri. Both of her parents were United Church of Christ ministers.…

Marion C. Thurnauer was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee and moved with her family to Minnesota when she was still young. Her father, a ceramic engineer, introduced her to rocks and minerals and encouraged her to follow…

Linda C. Meade-Tollin was born and raised in London, West Virginia, one of two children. Her father was a dentist and a community activist, her mother a teacher of languages and a guidance counselor. Always…

Catherine T. Hunt grew up in Bronxville, New York, one of seven children. Her father was a chemist at Allied Chemical Company, and Katie often went to work with him and always had questions for him about why things are…

Amy Hauck Newman was raised in Buffalo, New York, one of two sisters. Her mother was an elementary school teacher; her father, a mechanical engineer. She enjoyed school from a young age and was interested in literature,…

Allison A. Aldridge calls Ottawa, Kansas her home town. Her father was in the Air Force, her mother worked in industry and she has three brothers. When she was young Aldridge wanted to be a veterinarian, but working…

Gloria L. Anderson was born and raised in Altheimer, Arkansas, and had five brothers. Her father was a farmer and then a janitor; her mother a domestic worker and a creative seamstress. Anderson was always good in…

Margaret E. M. Tolbert was born in Suffolk, Virginia at a time when rural Virginia was still very segregated. She and her siblings were raised by their grandmother within a large extended family. Growing up, Tolbert…

Cynthia J. Burrows was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, one of two children. Her father was an electrical engineer in the aerospace industry, and her mother was a housewife. She liked school and was a good student; she had…

Madeleine Jacobs grew up in Washington, D.C., the younger of two children. Her father was a musician, her mother a secretary. The television program Watch Mr. Wizard convinced her she wanted to be a scientist, in…

Sally Chapman's interest in science was fostered both by her "tinkerer" father and by the nationwide interest in innovative science education that occurred after Sputnik. She attended Smith College and worked for the…

Catherine Hurt Middlecamp was born in Queens, New York, though she grew up in Garden City, New York. Hers was a family of teachers and so Middlecamp wanted to be a teacher as well. She loved school, was active in many…

Dorit Hanein was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, but grew up in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil, where her family was engaged in an Israeli-Dutch program to foster soybean cultivation. She and her sister attended all-girl, Roman…

Karin M. Reinisch grew up in Massachusetts, one of two daughters. Her father was a physicist, a professor at University of Massachusetts; her mother was a housewife. Her parents were immigrants from Germany, and…

At the request of the interviewee, the abstract of the interview and interviewee’s biographical data have not been included. For more information, please contact the Center for Oral History.

Barbara Panning was born in Switzerland, one of three children. The family moved to Toronto, Canada, when Barbara was a young child, but Barbara continued to summer in Switzerland. She had an idyllic childhood and…

Yolanda Sanchez was born in El Paso, Texas, but grew up in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. She was one of five children whose father was an architect, now a teacher, and a housewife. Sanchez spent a year in New Zealand,…

Donna J. Nelson's oral history begins with a discussion of her childhood in Eufaula, Oklahoma—a small town with Native American influences that grew into a much larger town throughout her youth. Heavily influenced by…

Patricia F. Ducy grew up in Lyon, France, an only child. Her father was in insurance and her mother was a secretary. She attended a very good school a fair distance from her home, so she spent much time with her…

Caroline F. Kisker grew up in West Berlin, West Germany, where she attended the John F. Kennedy German-American grammar school. After completing her Abitur, Kisker planned to study medicine, but due to the complicated…

Chavela M. Carr grew up near Indianapolis, Indiana in a large family. From early childhood she was interested in school, finding the math-based sciences interesting. Due to a high school human genetics course, Carr…

At the request of the interviewee, the abstract of the interview and interviewee’s biographical data have not been included. For more information, please contact the Center for Oral History.

Hao Wu's oral history begins with a discussion of her childhood in China, during which her family was separated and forced to relocate to the countryside during the Cultural Revolution. Despite the difficulties…