The Smithsonian’s portraits of women scientists give us a glimpse into the lives that helped shape modern discovery. Each portrait captures how the women went about bringing change in the science field and challenging the rules during their time. From pioneers to mentors, the women scientists worked valuable hours and used careful methods to make breakthroughs in their research and work. We’ve collected 31 inspiring portraits of these trailblazing scientists with incredible background stories.

Born in 1908, Carolina Amor de Fournier was the founder of La Prensa Médica Mexicana, a scientific publishing company in Mexico. She was a writer, editor, and translator by profession, and also served as the director of the publishing company. In 1980, Fournier was awarded the Merito Editorial for h

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