ALD21: Maria Sibylla Merian, Naturalist and Scientific Illustrator

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Maria Sibylla Merian

Maria Sibylla Merian was a naturalist and scientific illustrator, one of the first researchers to systematically observe insects and the first person to document the process of metamorphosis from caterpillar to butterfly or moth. She also discovered that caterpillars ate only specific plants, and that the butterfly would therefore lay eggs near these plants. She observed the way that some larvae shed their skins, detailed how larvae spun their cocoons, and made many other observations that had not been recorded before.

Born in 1647 in Germany, Merian made major contributions to entomology and was one of the first ecologists. Her observations were very detailed, for example, she identified the differences between male and female adult insects and examined their full life-cycle. In one notable illustration, she shows all the steps of the silkworm moth life-cycle.

In 1679, a year after the birth of her second daughter, Merian published Der Raupen wunderbarer Verwandlung (The Wondrous Transformation of Caterpillars), the result of almost two decades of observations. Merian illustrated her book about caterpillars herself, composing complex, lifelike scenes, where several insects interact with each other.

In 1699, Merian travelled with her youngest daughter to Suriname in South America and spent two years collecting specimens. Expeditions for scientists at that time were quite uncommon, and women especially did not travel to a different continent on their own. The outcome from her research justified the trip: her seminal work Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium, (Metamorphosis of Surinamese Insects), which describes the plant and animal life of Suriname.

Further reading

ALD21 Podcasts: Handmade, Anna Ploszajski

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Handmade, Anna Ploszajski

Handmade is a podcast which explores the personal connections we all have with the materials around us. Anna Ploszajski started Handmade four years ago when she realised that, although she is theoretically a materials expert, she didn’t actually know anything really about materials, like how to turn a pot on the wheel, or forge a steel bar or spin wool into yarn. This podcast features conversations with materials experts who do. 

Handmade now has over 80 interviews with makers, craftspeople, artists and enthusiasts all with a love of handmaking with materials and looks at materials including synthetic diamond, leather, ceramics, clothing, musical instruments, wood, dyes and more.

Recent episodes feature interviews with: 

  • Steph Couturier on stained glass;
  • Hester Hamilton, costume-maker and burlesque performer;
  • Sophie Cotterill about her craft of weaving;
  • artist and designer Frances Priest about her work with ceramics; and,
  • Shannon Nicley on synthetic diamonds.

You can follow her work here:

Twitter: @AnnaPloszajski and @rialtalk
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/anna-ploszajski-a9381144
Website: www.annaploszajski.com

ALD21: Ángela Ruiz Robles, Writer and Inventor

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Ángela Ruiz Robles

Ángela Ruiz Robles invented and, in 1948, patented the la Enciclopedia Mecánica, or Mechanical Encyclopaedia, which is considered to be an early version of an ebook. She couldn’t build a prototype until 1962; it is now exhibited in the National Museum of Science and Technology in A Coruña, Spain.

The mechanical book displayed content on three scroll-like reels that could be wound forwards or backwards across a central ‘page’. The reels were interchangeable, so content was customisable. The book came with a built-in light to facilitate reading in the dark, and it also supported sounds. The size of an ordinary book, it was enclosed by two box-like covers.

Ruiz Robles developed the Mechanical Encyclopaedia for her students so that they would not have to carry heavy books around. She believed her device would make learning more attractive by allowing her to adapt the learning materials to the specific needs of the individual student. The content reels could be produced in any language, and about any subject at any level, and teachers could produce their own content for it.

Ultimately, despite several trips to Madrid to try to find backing, she was unable to fund production or find a production partner.

In 1947, she received the Cross of Alfonso X the Wise for her innovations in education and social work, and in 1952 she was awarded a Gold Medal at an exhibition for Spanish inventors.

Further reading

ALD21 Books: The Disordered Cosmos, Chanda Prescod-Weinstein

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Chanda Prescod-Weinstein

The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey Into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred, Chanda Prescod-Weinstein

Science, like most fields, is set up for men to succeed, and is rife with racism, sexism, and shortsightedness as a result. But as Dr Chanda Prescod-Weinstein makes brilliantly clear, we all have a right to know the night sky. One of the leading physicists of her generation, she is also one of the fewer than one hundred Black women to earn a PhD in physics.

You will enjoy – and share – her love for physics, from the Standard Model of Particle Physics and what lies beyond it, to the physics of melanin in skin, to the latest theories of dark matter — all with a new spin and rhythm informed by pop culture, hip hop, politics, and Star Trek. This vision of the cosmos is vibrant, inclusive and buoyantly non-traditional.

By welcoming the insights of those who have been left out for too long, we expand our understanding of the universe and our place in it. The Disordered Cosmos is a vision for a world without prejudice that allows everyone to view the wonders of the universe through the same starry eyes.

Order the book on Bookshop.org.uk here and your purchase will support a local independent bookshop of your choice!

You can follow her work here:

Twitter: @IBJIYONGI
Facebook: facebook.com/chandapw
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/chandaprescodweinstein
Website: www.cprescodweinstein.com

ALD21: Professor Sylvia Ratnasamy, Computer Scientist

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Sylvia Ratnasamy

Professor Sylvia Ratnasamy

Professor Sylvia Ratnasamy is a computer scientist specializing in networking who invented the distributed hash table, a way of efficiently storing data without requiring a central registry.

In her 2001 paper, “A Scalable, Content-Addressable Network”, Ratnasamy became the first person to define a scalable design for distributed hash tables (DHT), an essential element in large-scale distributed and peer-to-peer computing systems. Her paper is currently one of the most cited in the recent history of computer science.

DHTs optimise data storage across several locations or even geographies by splitting data into objects, and they are now used in many distributed datacenters and by cloud service providers. DHTs enables large enterprises, including big tech companies like Apple, Google and Facebook, to efficiently manage and distribute data in storage systems across the globe, while making it rapidly accessible wherever necessary. Without DHTs, today’s cloud services, file sharing services and social networks would be much more complex.

Ratnasamy’s later work improved scalability for peer-to-peer applications such as file-sharing and developed more effective connection topologies for DHTs. She also introduced OpenDHT, a public DHT service that makes it possible for any organisation to easily and quickly build their own distributed systems.

Ratnasamy is a professor at Berkeley University, where her research is in operating systems & networking. She was named one of IEEE’s N² Women: Star in Computer Networking and Communications in 2019, and was given ACM Grace Murray Hopper Award in 2014.

You can follow her work here:

Website: eecs.berkeley.edu/Faculty/Homepages/ratnasamy.html

Further reading