Climbing the Learning Curve

Today's Science Times has this feature about the award of a Sloan grant to Gretchen Somerfeld, who is refining a screenplay about another aspect of movie star Hedy Lamarr's life: that of an inventor.

During World War II, Lamarr hit upon an idea for ensuring that radio controlled devices (like today's "smart bombs") couldn't be jammed. Calling her invention "frequency hopping," it is the basis for such things as cell phone networks, WiFi, and other cordless devices. She received a patent for her idea, and subsequently donated the concept to the government. Lamarr eventually received the Pioneer Award of the Electronic Frontier Foundation in 1997.

The Times article also focuses on another woman who's insight led to major advances in science: Rosiland Franklin. Likewise the subject of a new screenplay, Franklin never received due credit for her X-Ray photographs of DNA molecules. James Watson and Francis Crick, who are generally credited with deducing the double helix structure of DNA, relied heavily on Franklin's work. They went on to receive acclaim and honors. Franklin succumbed to cancer in 1958.