Colors That Inspire Your Science
By Kylie Wolfe
“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way.”
– Georgia O’Keeffe, Artist
Just as color inspires an artist, science inspires you. Find your muse by celebrating your field and hearing from scientists of all backgrounds.
Stop back every month to learn more about each featured scientist or follow along on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
December 2022: Remarkable in Red
“[Scientific research] is like a voyage of discovery into unknown lands, seeking not for new territory but for new knowledge.”
– Frederick Sanger, Biochemist
Change the World
Frederick Sanger, an English biochemist, was born in 1918 in Gloucestershire, United Kingdom. His father was a physician and inspired his pursuit of science. Sanger attended the University of Cambridge, receiving his undergraduate degree in natural sciences in 1939 and a Ph.D. in 1943. He also spent his professional career at Cambridge, carrying out a lifetime of research in the biochemistry department.
Throughout his career, Sanger studied proteins and later determined the structure of insulin. His work was quickly recognized, earning him the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1958. He also developed a DNA sequencing method, known as the Sanger Method, that’s still used to today. The technique is now automated and helped further the Human Genome Project. Among other honors, his work with nucleic acids led to a second Nobel Prize in 1980.
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November 2022: Objective in Olive
“Creativity is seeing what everyone else sees, but then thinking a new thought that has never been thought before and expressing it somehow.”
– Neil deGrasse Tyson, Astrophysicist
Explore Your Potential
Neil deGrasse Tyson, an American astrophysicist and author, is from New York City. As a kid, Tyson visited the American Museum of Natural History’s Hayden Planetarium which led to his love of astronomy. He earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in astrophysics from Columbia University. During his postdoctoral research at Princeton University, Tyson’s work focused on galactic structure and evolution.
Throughout his career, Tyson has been a science communicator — he wrote a question-and-answer column about astronomy for the University of Texas, has written numerous books and essays, and hosted PBS NOVA’s program ScienceNOW. Tyson has received over twenty honorary doctorates, as well as the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal. And as a nod to his childhood, he now holds the title of director for the Hayden Planetarium.
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October 2022: Observant in Orange
“We can teach young scientists how to survive in a prejudiced world. Self-confidence is crucial in advancing and enjoying a research career.”
– Ben Barres, Neuroscientist
Make a Difference
Ben Barres, an American neuroscientist, was born in 1954 in New Jersey, and spent his career exploring the importance of glial cells. He received his undergraduate degree, medical degree, and Ph.D. in neuroscience from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dartmouth Medical School, and Harvard Medical School, respectively. During this time, his work led to a variety of discoveries about glial cells and their ion channels.
In 1993, Barres started his own lab at the Stanford University School of Medicine studying synapses in the developing brain. There, he encouraged his lab personnel to ask questions, work together, and provide constructive feedback. In 2013, Barres was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and became their first openly transgender member. He used the latter part of his career to advocate for women in science and discuss many personal challenges.
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September 2022: Curious in Cyan
“Science, for me, gives a partial explanation for life. In so far as it goes, it is based on fact, experience and experiment.”
– Rosalind Franklin, Chemist
Speak Up for Science
Rosalind Franklin, a British chemist, was born in 1920 in London, England. Math and science were her strengths, even at a young age. She attended Newnham College, one of two women’s colleges at Cambridge University, for physical chemistry. Franklin studied coals and carbons using x-ray crystallography, earning her Ph.D. from Cambridge in 1945. This research helped with the development of carbon fibers and heat-resistant materials.
Franklin is most known for her contributions to the discovery of the structure of DNA. At the time, the credit went to scientists Francis Crick and James Watson. They were awarded the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine alongside Maurice Wilkins. It wasn’t until later that Franklin was recognized for her critical data: an x-ray diffraction image referred to as Photo 51 that shows DNA’s three-dimensional structure.
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August 2022: Methodical in Marigold
“Above all, don’t fear difficult moments. The best comes from them.”
– Rita Levi-Montalcini, Neurobiologist
Overcome All Obstacles
Rita Levi-Montalcini, a neurobiology researcher, was born in 1909 in Turin, Italy. She attended the University of Turin medical school and received her degree in medicine and surgery in 1936. By 1940, she also earned specialized degrees in neurology and psychiatry. At the time, Fascist laws kept Italian Jews from working at universities, so Levi-Montalcini installed a lab at her home to study neurogenesis in chicken embryos.
After World War II, Levi-Montalcini returned to her work and later established multiple laboratories in Rome. In 1986, she received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with biochemist Stanley Cohen. The pair are credited with the discovery of nerve growth factor, an insulin-like protein that stimulates developing nerve cells. Their work helped scientists understand cell growth and diseases like Alzheimer’s.
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July 2022: Trusted in Teal
“When you’re working every day, you’re not thinking, ‘What impact is this going to have on the world?’ You’re thinking, ‘I’ve got to get this right.’”
– Gladys West, Mathematician
Be a Source of Truth
Gladys West, an American mathematician, was born in rural Virginia. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Virginia State University, then taught for a couple years before taking a position at the U.S. Naval Proving Ground (later the Naval Surface Warfare Center). One of her first noteworthy projects was an astronomical study about the movement of Pluto relative to Neptune.
West was known for her ability to solve complex equations by hand and eventually by computer. In the mid-1970s, she began modeling the shape of the Earth. West published her findings in 1986. Through precise calculations and satellite orbit data, she laid the foundation for the Global Positioning System (GPS). West retired in 1998, received her doctorate in public administration in 2000, and was recognized with multiple honors in 2018.
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June 2022: Benevolent in Berry
“Those who contemplate the beauty of the Earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.”
– Rachel Carson, Conservationist
Leave a Legacy
Rachel Carson, a passionate ecologist and writer, was born in Springdale, Pennsylvania in 1907. Using her marine biology background, Carson wrote books about life in the ocean, including Under the Sea Wind in 1941 and The Sea Around Us in 1951. One of Carson’s most well-known works, Silent Spring, was published in 1962. It jumpstarted the modern environmental movement that led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Carson’s activism also helped ban the use of DDT and other pesticides. She became a trusted source of scientific information, writing brochures and other materials for the Fish and Wildlife Service. Only the second woman hired there, Carson ultimately earned a promotion to editor-in-chief. She received recognition from the National Audubon Society and the American Geographical Society for her work and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1980.
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May 2022: Persistent in Purple
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
– Albert Einstein, Physicist
Innovate Every Day
Albert Einstein, a German-born theoretical physicist, began his training in 1896 at the Swiss Federal Polytechnic School in Zurich, Switzerland. He graduated in 1901 and struggled to find a job in his field, so he became a technical assistant in the Swiss Patent Office. After earning his doctorate in 1905, he became a professor and held various titles across Europe.
Einstein spent his early career laying the foundation for his famed theory of relativity, an explanation of gravity. He began teaching at the University of Berlin in 1914 and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921. In 1933, Einstein emigrated to America and became a professor of theoretical physics at Princeton University. He published numerous papers on the theory of relativity and other topics, receiving honorary doctorate degrees in science, medicine, and philosophy.
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April 2022: Gifted in Green
“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.”
– Marie Curie, Physicist
Pioneer the Way
Marie Curie, a Polish physicist and chemist, moved to Paris in 1891 to pursue an education at Sorbonne University. It was there that, in 1894, she met her husband, Pierre. Curie received her doctorate degree in 1903, becoming head of the physics laboratory and a professor of general physics, succeeding her husband in both roles.
Curie is known for her work with radioactive elements, including the isolation of radium and the determination of its atomic weight. In 1903, she shared a Nobel Prize in Physics with her husband and Henri Becquerel, a French engineer and physicist, for their study of spontaneous radiation. She was awarded a second Nobel Prize in 1911 for her work with radioactivity. In 1914, Curie became the director of the Curie Laboratory at the University of Paris. Then, during World War I, she developed mobile X-rays to help diagnose battlefield injuries.
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March 2022: Accomplished in Amber
“The noblest exercise of the mind within doors, and most befitting a person of quality, is study.”
– William Ramsay, Chemist
Make Your Next Discovery
William Ramsay, a Scottish chemist, won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1904 for his discovery of the noble gases. His early career focused on organic chemistry and physical chemistry, including contributions to stoichiometry and thermodynamics. Throughout his career, Ramsay helped increase our understanding of atoms and, ultimately, molecules.
Ramsay became chair of the inorganic chemistry department at University College London in 1887. While there, he studied the oxides of nitrogen and published much of his work. Working in separate laboratories but with the same goal, Ramsay kept in touch with John William Strutt, an English scientist. The pair compared their results often, which led to the discovery of argon in 1894. By 1898, Ramsay had introduced a new group of the periodic table and identified five new elements: argon, helium, neon, krypton, and xenon.
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February 2022: Learned in Lavender
“Just because we are not ready for scientific progress does not mean it won’t happen.”
– Jennifer Doudna, Biochemist
Be a Leader
Jennifer Doudna, an American biochemist, is known for her contributions to the discovery of CRISPR-Cas9, a gene editing technology. This work was completed in 2012 with French microbiologist Emmanuelle Charpentier. Their efforts led to a shared Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2020. The tool, used to cut and edit DNA in specific locations, could help fight diseases and may lead to future scientific innovations.
Doudna currently works as a professor of molecular biology, cell biology, and chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley and has since 1997. Her lab's projects focus on DNA acquisition in CRISPR-Cas9 systems, testing and discovery, and diagnostic and gene editing applications of the technology. Doudna holds the Li Ka Shing Chancellor’s Chair in biomedical and health sciences at the university and has also received other awards and honors for her research.
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January 2022: Brilliant in Blue
“Don't let anyone rob you of your imagination, your creativity, or your curiosity. It's your place in the world; it's your life. Go on and do all you can with it and make it the life you want to live.”
– Mae Jemison, NASA Astronaut
Reach for the Stars
Mae Jemison, the first Black woman to travel to space, was accepted into NASA Astronaut Group 12 in June of 1987. Out of over 2,000 applicants, she was one of 15 selected. During her time at NASA, she helped with launch support, computer software, and other missions. The shuttle Endeavor, with Jemison and six more astronauts on board, made 127 orbits around the Earth from September 12 to 20, 1992. It launched from and returned to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Jemison left NASA in March of 1993 and created the Dorothy Jemison Foundation for Excellence the following year. She launched The Earth We Share, a STEM education camp, around the same time. Both fuel her mission to advance science literacy. Jemison was also the first real astronaut to appear in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, a show she enjoyed as a child.
January Featured Product
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