Rita Colwell

To Rita Colwell, science has been a way to make sense of the world. So when her high school teacher said she couldn’t make it in chemistry — no woman could — she didn’t let the discouraging words deter her love and pursuit of science.

Rather, Colwell would become a highly respected scientist who made contributions with her research on cholera and other infectious diseases, and the first woman to direct the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Colwell’s major interests while leading the NSF, an independent government agency that supports research and education in the fields of science and engineering, included early science and mathematics education as well as the “increased participation of women and minorities in science and engineering,” according to her NSF biography.

During her six-year tenure as NSF director, which began in 1998, the foundation’s budget swelled by 68 percent.

She directed funding and championed programs related to innovative science, engineering, and mathematics education programs. In particular, Colwell spearheaded an initiative that intended to increase the NSF’s support of the mathematical sciences. 

In an interview with The Hill, she noted that an analysis from Science Magazine several years later indicated that an increased number of students in mathematics could be traced to the extra funding she helped secure.

Colwell remains a vocal supporter of the NSF’s work.

She has served in various capacities, including advisory roles in the U.S. government, nonprofit science organizations, private foundations and the scientific research community. 

In 2006, she was awarded the National Medal of Science by then-President George W. Bush. 

She is now a professor at both the University of Maryland at College Park and at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Still, when asked what accomplishment she is most proud of, she says it is raising two daughters who followed in her footsteps.

“I’m most proud of the fact my husband and I together raised two daughters who both became scientists,” Colwell said.

— Olivia Beavers