Tribute to Stephanie Kwolek: the woman who invented Kevlar

On 18 June, Stephanie Kwolek, the American scientist who invented Kevlar in 1965, died in Wilmington (Delaware) at the age of ninety-one. Kevlar, produced by DuPont, which patented it in 1973, was initially conceived as a material to be used in the production of tyres. But it went on to be used widely in a range of fields helping, amongst other things, to save the lives of thousands of soldiers thanks to its application in the production of military bulletproof vests and helmets. Kwolek was born in New Kensington (Pennsylvania) in 1923. She graduated from the Carnegie Institute of Technology with a thesis in chemistry. She was taken on by DuPont in 1946 and worked for the company until 1986. Her invention of Kevlar came about by chance. Kwolek, at the time conducting research into the development of a fibre intended to reinforce radial tyres, ended up developing an agglomerate of exceptionally strong thin polymers. Kevlar is, in fact, a lightweight aramid fibre that, weight for weight, is five times stronger than steel, and which is today also used in the sports, nautical, automotive and aerospace sectors, amongst others.