Description: Dr. Joan W. Nowicke, Curator, Department of Botany, was an internationally recognized palynologist specializing in pollen morphology at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, 1972–99. Nowicke earned special recognition in the 1980s for her work studying “Yellow Rain,” which some governments alleged was a form of chemical biological warfare. #Groundbreaker
Description: Dr. Karen Y. Lemmey is the Smithsonian American Art Museum's curator of sculpture, the largest collection of American sculpture in the world, and won a 2017 Secretary's Research Prize.
Description: Dr. Lucille St. Hoyme, Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, worked her way up from clerk to curator of physical anthropology researching variations of human traits from region to region over time. #Groundbreaker
Description: Curator Dr. Margaret A. Weitekamp, Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum, oversees the museum's social and cultural dimensions of spaceflight collection, and wrote a book about early women in space programs which won the 2004 Eugene M. Emme Award for Astronautical Literature. #Groundbreaker
Description: Dr. Maureen Wanjiku Kamau, Veterinary Research Fellow in One Health, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s Global Health Program, 2018–present, treats injured and ill wildlife species, conducts research, and participates in outreach and training. She is currently leading a study on the endangered wild eastern black rhino. #Groundbreaker
Description: As head of the Center for African American Media Arts, National Museum of African American History and Culture, curator Dr. Rhea Combs leads effort to collect, preserve, and make accessible an extensive collection of films, photographs, and recordings documenting African American history. #Groundbreaker
Description: Curator of Latino art, Dr. Taína Caragol, Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery, aspires to: "My goal at the Portrait Gallery has been to make sure the contributions of Latinos to U.S. history are properly represented in the museum." #Groundbreaker
Description: Dr. Valerie Paul, head scientist at the Smithsonian Marine Station and director of the Caribbean Coral Reef Ecosystems, researches marine chemical ecology, marine plant-herbivore interactions, coral reef ecology, and marine natural products. #Groundbreaker
Description: Eleanor McMillan, Conservator, Smithsonian’s Conservation Analytical Laboratory, 1963–94, supervised conservation projects and educational and training programs. Although she began as a generalist, McMillan became the first paper conservator in the laboratory. After retirement, she provided initial funding for the Smithsonian Center for Archives Conservation and donated her
Description: Dr. Evelyn Hankins, Senior Curator, has worked for the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden since 2007. She curated major exhibitions, such as Directions: Jennie C. Jones: Higher Resonance (2013), Robert Irwin: All the Rules Will Change (2016), and Mark Bradford Pickett's Charge (2017–2021). Hankins has also been a vocal advocate for increased women's leadership in the art
Description: Gretchen Gayle Ellsworth was a Fellow and later Co-Director, Office of Academic Programs, 1968–78; Director, Office of Fellowships and Grants, 1978–84; Deputy Director, Directorate of International Activities, 1985–88; and Associate Director, National Zoological Park, 1988–93. Ellsworth was also instrumental in planning for better childcare at the Smithsonian. #Groundbreaker
Description: Congratulations to Janine Brown for receiving the Smithsonian Scholarly Studies Award to examine, "Using serum inflammatory markers to investigate the immune response to elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus."