Kwolek

Ms. Washington’s looking at me the same way she looked at Daphne during her presentation on Lizzie Magie, the woman who invented Monopoly, and the way she looked at Kyle during his presentation on Stephanie Kwolek, the scientist who invented Kevlar, the material used in bulletproof vests.

“In Rhode Island, more than 800 acres of agricultural lands including vineyards, orchards and berry farms are at risk,” said Cynthia Kwolek, a state environmental expert working on the survey.

"We should applaud the fact that some of the greatest scientists and inventors throughout history have been women - from Marie Curie and Rosalind Franklin to Grace Hopper, inventor of computer programming, and Stephanie Kwolek, the inventor of Kevlar," she says.

Stephanie Kwolek, for example developed Kevlar, which has applications that include skis, bows, mechanical belts, industrial hoses and bulletproof clothing.

No Prudence Wright, Revolutionary War militia commander and mother of 11; no aviator Amelia Earhart; no Stephanie Kwolek, inventor of Kevlar; no Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross.