19 December – 1960-1970: Kwolek & Woodward
Day 18 of the chemistry advent timeline features Stephanie Kwolek, the polymer chemist who discovered the super-strong material Kevlar, used in bulletproof vests. She also developed the Nylon Rope Trick, a popular demo in schools.
Also featured today is Robert Burns Woodward, a Nobel Prize winner considered to be one of the leading organic chemists of the 20th century. He was extraordinarily successful in synthesising complicated natural products, and developed rules to determine the stereochemistry of the products of particular reactions.
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