How many female Nobel Prize winners in science can you name? If you find yourself struggling to name more than one, you're probably not alone. Of the 300 Nobel Prizes that have been awarded in the sciences since 1901, only 3% have gone to women. The National Academy of Sciences, which was established in 1893, currently has over 2000 members, of whom less than 5% are female.

In this course, we will examine the lives and scientific contributions of a number of women scientists, some Nobel laureates, some not. By evaluating the experiences of different individuals over the course of scientific history, we will attempt to gain perspective on the current status of women in the sciences and discuss how the contributions of women to scientific research can be further encouraged and increased.