1. Dec 2014 SPOTLIGHT ON Inventor of Kevlar

2.  1946 - Kwolek earned a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in chemistry from Margaret Morrsion Carnegie College of Carnegie Mellon University.  1946 – Kwolek joined Dupont working in Buffalo New York. She moved to Wilmington, Delaware in 1950 where she continued to work for Dupont. She had planned to become a doctor but found the work interesting and decided to stay rather than pursuing a medical career.  1959 – Publishes “The Nylon Rope Trick” which demonstrated a way of producing nylon in a beaker at room temperature. It is still the basis of a common classroom experiment.  1964 - In anticipation of a gasoline shortage, Kwolek’s group began searching for a lightweight yet strong fiber to be used in tires.  1965 - Creates first of a family of synthetic fibers of exceptional strength and stiffness. Best known member of the family is Kevlar.  1971 - Modern Kevlar was introduced. Kwolek learned that the fibers could be made even stronger by heat-treating them. The polymer molecules, shaped like rods or matchsticks, are highly oriented, which gives Kevlar its extraordinary strength.

3.  Kevlar is the registered trademark for a para-aramid synthetic fiber.  Kevlar was five times stronger than steel by weight Poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide

4. Kevlar is used as a material in more than 200 applications

5.  1980 - Kwolek received the Chemical Pioneer Award from the American Institute of Chemists, and an Award for Creative Invention from the American Chemical Society.  1995 – Kwolek was awarded the DuPont’s Lavoisier Medal for outstanding technical achievement. At the time of her death in 2014, she was still the only female employee to receive that honor.  1995 - Fourth woman to be added to the National Inventors Hall of Fame.  1996 - Received the National Medal of Technology and the IRI (Industrial Research Institute) Achievement Award.  1997 - Received the Perkin Medal from the American Chemical Society  2003 – Kwolek was added to the National Women's Hall of Fame.  Honorary degrees by Carnegie Mellon University (2001), Worcester Polytechnic Institute (1981)[6] and Clarkson University (1997).  The Royal Society of Chemistry grants a biennial 'Stephanie L Kwolek Award', "to recognise exceptional contributions to the area of materials chemistry from a scientist working outside the UK".

6. “All sorts of things can happen when you’re open to new ideas and playing around with things” “Not in a million years did I think the discovery of this liquid solution would save thousands of lives.”