The Cornell University physicist was an advocate on issues such as nuclear weapons and climate change.

Guthrie established foundational concepts in the field of pre-mRNA splicing during her career at the University of California, San Francisco.

The paleoanthropologist was widely celebrated for his unmatched ability to find and identify fossils.

He was known for his research on iron’s role in phytoplankton biomass.

He advanced the field of medical genetics, spoke out about reducing the stigma associated with mental illness, and captured attention for asserting that scientific evidence failed to demonstrate that life begins at conception.

Lovelock’s environmental research improved humanity’s understanding of pollutants, but he’s best known for his hypothesis that Earth behaves like a self-regulating organism, which changed how scientists view the planet.

Seifert is well known for his clinical toxicology work, particularly his findings around snake envenomation and antivenoms.

Coppens, alongside Donald Johanson and Maurice Taieb, found a 3.2-million-year-old Australopithecus afarensis fossil in the 1970s.

The prolific science communicator specialized in studies of vision and brain plasticity and was the focus of threats from animal rights extremists for several years.

Fogel mined information from isotopes to explore modern and ancient ecosystems, climatic changes, and evolution.

Krimsky warned strenuously about the corrupting power of money in science.

Her research showed that communication via sign language is as neurologically complex as spoken language. 

Hoffmann traveled through Chile cataloging its rare flora. Later, she fought to defend the country’s forests from commercial deforestation.

The biophysicist shared the 1989 Prize in Chemistry for discovering RNA’s catalytic properties.

His research paved the way for the development of synthetic insulin to treat diabetes.

Beaumanoir helped Jews evade Nazis during World War II and aided resistance fighters during the Algerian War of Independence. She also contributed to the field of epileptology.

His research uncovered secrets of motility in E. coli.

Unsatisfied by how treatments for childhood leukemia failed to prevent the disease’s return, Pinkel combined them all—and virtually cured the disease.

His work was pivotal to understanding the mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.