Stephanie Kwolek

Stephanie Kwolek (born July 31, 1923) is an American chemist and the inventor of Kevlar. Born in New Kensington, Pennsylvania, she joined DuPont as a chemist in 1946, specializing in low-temperature processes for the preparation of condensation polymers. In 1965 she discovered liquid-crystalline polymers, which she used to develop the Kevlar aramid fiber.

In 1994, Kwolek became the fourth woman to be inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.