RIP, Stephanie Kwolek
Stephanie Kwolek died last week. She was 90.
Her passing was not widely highlighted in the press. Unless you saw one of the relatively small number of stories in the media, you probably didn’t hear she’d died.
Yet the lady is responsible for literally thousands of persons being alive today who would doubtless be dead otherwise. And many if not most of those are military personnel.
Why? One word: Kevlar. Kwolek invented it as a DuPont researcher in 1965.
Rest in peace, dear lady. You did your part for humanity.
Thousands thank you every day.
Hat tip to one of our readers for alerting us to Ms. Kwolek’s passing.
Category: Blue Skies
Rest in Peace Stephanie Kwolek. Thank you for all the lives here today because of your hard work.
Didn’t make a dime off of it as she turned over the patent. Damn. Amazing woman.
I owe you one Ma’am.
She made the discovery while employed by DuPont, so it was actually their technology or intellectual property. That aside, some of the points from the article:
“She was stubborn, she clung on, and she did the work because she found it interesting”
Kwolek got a nice lab at DuPont after the discovery, but recognized she was in the company of many other distinguished scientists… Kwolek always said that DuPont compensated her properly for her discovery.
In the 2007 interview, Kwolek was careful to take credit only for the initial discovery of the technology used in the development of Kevlar, crediting the team for taking it further, especially DuPont scientist Herbert Blades.
So, she was a dedicated, hard working, team player. I’ll go out a limb and say she was probably pretty smart as well.
While my Kevlar was never tested during my deployments, I took comfort wearing it. As opposed to stateside training where it was hot, uncomfortable, and a pain in the ass.
Rest in Peace, Stephanie, and thank you for your years of hard work and dedication. You DID make a difference.
To your point, no doubt.
But we’re a litigious society so I left some wiggle room.
Brass tacks is that she seems like she was classy as fuck.
“I owe you one ma’am.” Cool.
Among the products containing Kevlar are kayaks, snowboards, tennis rackets, baseball bats, ski boots, USB cords and MP3 earphone cables, brake pads, clutches, belts, tires, and many other vehicle parts, fire-resistant mattresses, and wind turbines.
Which one of those do you owe her for, Hussar?
“…[S]he was classy as fuck.”
Nothing says classy like that description, Hussar. You really nailed it.
Absolutely an amazing woman. Thank you Ma’am.
Many thanks, ma’am. What a class act.
She is the unsung hero that not many think of. I hope there is a special place in the next world for her.
I’ll give everyone my take on Kevlar. I was still a new SPC in the 82nd and my first Kevlar helmet was once I got to my assignment (we had steel pots in BCT and jump school). We had the privilege of loading out troops for the Panama invasion, and the chalk leader of my bird (He was a Major) dropped hie helmet just as they were closing the ramp on the C-141. The ramp closed about 90% when it jammed with the helmet folded nicely. When the ramp was lowered, the Major retrieved his Jevlar and looked it over and said “Looks good to me” and went on his way to Panama. That’s the kind of stuff that inspires confidence in your equipment!
Kevlar is my best friend, I did not know you Stephanie but each time I’ve used Kevlar you have been close to my heart. Thank you.