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…

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 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…

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…

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,…

Marjorie A. Oettinger grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, the younger of two children. Her father was a professor at Harvard University; her mother taught biology at Harvard University; and her brother went to Harvard…

Ellen Puré grew up in Queens, New York, the youngest of three children. Her parents were Polish survivors of concentration camps. Her father was a carpenter who designed and built store interiors. Always interested in…

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…

Rebecca Rimel begins this brief interview with a discussion of the circumstances that led to the formation by The Pew Charitable Trusts of the Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences. She discusses the roles of…

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,…

Marnie E. Halpern grew up in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Her family was Jewish and had left Europe shortly before World War II. As she says, the Holocaust was not talked about much in the family, but it was always there.…

Beverly M. Emerson was born in Eugene, Oregon, and spent much of her childhood there. She was the only child of her two parents, but her father had three children by a previous marriage. Her parents divorced when she…

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…

Rasheedah Phillips was born in Trenton, New Jersey in 1984. She moved to Philadelphia at fourteen years old, the same year she became a mother. Four years later, Rasheedah graduated with honors from Abraham Lincoln High…

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…

Damali Rhett was born in October 1977, in Cleveland, Ohio. Her name derives from a Nigerian praise poem and means “beautiful vision.” As an infant, Damali moved to Washington, D.C. During high school Damali was accepted…

Eileen Flanagan was born in Philadelphia in 1962. She grew up in a one-bedroom apartment in Bala Cynwyd, just outside of Philadelphia. She attended Friends Central High School and graduated from Duke University. In the…

Kirtrina Baxter was born in 1969 in New Brunswick, New Jersey. She grew up in a diverse neighborhood in Willingboro, New Jersey, where her parents are Evangelical pastors. Katrina spent childhood summers in Philadelphia…

Kathleen L. Collins grew up in Norwell, Massachusetts, a small town near Boston, the second of four children. Her father was a teacher and an assistant principal. Her mother was a nurse until she stayed home with her…

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…

Frances M. Brodsky grew up in Princeton, New Jersey. Her father worked at ETS (Educational Testing Service), a job he began shortly after the company was founded. Her mother, an artist, was a professor at Rutgers and…

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…

Two views of a product demonstration at the Hercules Powder Company exhibition display at an unidentified chemical industry trade show. The individuals visible in the photograph are unidentified.

Formed in 1912 as part…

Lee Ann Niswander was born in Bluffton, Ohio, the fourth child of six. Her parents were moderately devout Mennonites until her father's job caused them to move to Okemos, Michigan, where they became Methodists. Both…

Diane M. Papazian spent her early years in Detroit, Michigan, the youngest of three children. Her father was an insurance salesman and administrator, her mother a housewife. She exhibited an early interest in science,…