Glossary
Matilda Effect
Mechanism of systematic invisibilization of women scientists' contributions, whose work is often minimized or attributed to their male colleagues. Named by Margaret W. Rossiter in honor of activist Matilda Joslyn Gage.
Intellectual Appropriation
The act of claiming another person's discovery, invention, or work, a practice leading to the spoliation of recognition and legacy.
Memorial Justice
The process of rehabilitation and recognition of forgotten historical figures, often through art, literature, or documentation.
Invisibilization
The act of rendering absent or erasing the contributions and input of certain categories of people, particularly women, under cultural pretexts.
Female Role Models
Figures of women scientists, inspiring figures whose recognition is essential to inspire ambition, particularly among young girls (especially in STEM fields).
Alice Ball
African American chemist pioneer of the 20th century who developed the first effective injectable treatment for leprosy (Ball Method), before being a victim of posthumous spoliation.
Lise Meitner
Austrian physicist whose theoretical explanation of nuclear fission was systematically minimized, without her receiving proper recognition.
Rosalind Franklin
Crystallographer essential to the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA through her photograph (Photo 51); her work was used by Watson and Crick.
Jocelyn Bell Burnell
Astrophysicist who discovered the first pulsar (neutron star); her thesis supervisor received the Nobel Prize for this discovery.
Marie-Jeanne Ghika
Figure of the French Revolution, whose political role was obscured for nearly two centuries.
Leprosy (or Hansen's Disease)
Infectious disease that was incurable until Alice Ball discovered the injectable treatment.
Chaulmoogra
Oil extracted from seeds used in the treatment of leprosy, whose administration was difficult due to its viscous nature.
Chaulnoogra
Oil extracted from seeds used in the treatment of leprosy, whose administration was difficult because it was not miscible in blood.
Chaulmoogra Oil
A chemical process used by Alice Ball to transform the fatty acids of the oil into ethyl esters, making them soluble and injectable.
Nuclear Fission
Physical process discovered by Lise Meitner, which led to atomic energy and the atomic bomb.
Pulsar
Rapidly rotating neutron star, discovered by Jocelyn Bell Burnell in 1967.
STEM
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.