Her Ruby Shoe Moment Chien-Shiung Wu rushed into the Union Depot in Washington DC. It was a snowy Christmas Eve in 1956 and she was trying to catch the last train bound for New York City. As Wu boarded the train and settled into her seat, the magnitude of her discovery sank in. Wu had just completed a science experiment … Read More
Ynes Mexia
Her Ruby Shoe Moment Ynes Mexia stood on the deck of a steamer ship pulling into the port of Sinaloa, Mexico. It was a beautiful September day in 1926, and it had been a long trip from her home in San Francisco. Ynes was anxious to begin her first solo adventure as a botanist. At age 56, Ynes was … Read More
Alice Ball
Her Ruby Shoe Moment Alice Ball inspected the light colored liquid in her test tube. Then, she placed a drop into water and swirled it around. She smiled as the two liquids mixed together. It was 1915 and Alice just created the first effective treatment for leprosy — an injectable oil extract from the seeds of the chaulmoogra tree. And … Read More