Stephanie kwolek kevlar biography definition psychology

Antoine lavoisier contribution to chemistry

Stephanie Louise Kwolek was an American chemist and the inventor of poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide, more commonly known as 'Kevlar'. She was born in New Kensington, Pennsylvania, and her father, John Kwolek, passed away when she was 10 years old. Stephanie credited her interest in chemistry to her father, while her mother, Nellie Zajdel Kwolek, fostered her interest in fashion.

She planned to pursue a doctoral degree but needed financial support, which she hoped to earn through the chemical industry. Initially, Stephanie did not intend to stay in the company for long; however, her passion for chemistry grew, and she abandoned her medical plans. In , she received an award from the American Chemical Society for her work in polymer chemistry.

Stephanie invented Kevlar while working at DuPont. In , her team began searching for a lightweight yet strong material suitable for tires. Stephanie was working on polymers like poly-p-phenylene terephthalate and polybenzamide, and the result was a liquid crystal that was radically different from all known polymers at that time.

The new substance did not meet the original goal and was destined to end up in the waste bin. However, Stephanie became interested in the polymer and convinced technician Charles Smullen, who operated the polymer "spinning" machine, to extract solid material from the liquid.