# Scientists Ecosystem Groundbreaking researchers whose discoveries advanced human knowledge — often while battling institutional sexism, scientific gatekeeping, and systemic exclusion. Their stories are particularly relevant today as science itself becomes a political battleground. **Core thesis:** The scientist tradition matters to the Right Wing KB because anti-science sentiment, funding cuts to research institutions, and the politicization of scientific consensus (climate, vaccines, public health) are core features of the modern right-wing project. These women represent what's at stake when evidence-based inquiry is subordinated to ideology. --- ## Key People ### Physics & Astronomy - [[Vera Rubin]] — dark matter pioneer (1928–2016); never won the Nobel despite foundational discovery; mentored generations of women astronomers ### Chemistry & Radioactivity - [[Marie Curie]] — first woman Nobel laureate, only person to win Nobels in two different sciences (Physics 1903, Chemistry 1911); faced xenophobia and misogyny throughout her career --- ## Connections to the Right-Wing KB - **Science denial** — Climate denial, anti-vaccine movements, and defunding of research agencies (EPA, NIH, NOAA) are central to the right-wing policy agenda - **Institutional capture** — Right-wing appointments to science advisory boards and regulatory agencies often prioritize ideology over expertise - **Gender & STEM** — Attacks on DEI programs in universities directly target the kind of inclusion that allowed women like Curie and Rubin to eventually break through --- ## See Also - [[Activists]] - [[Artists]] - [[Writers]] - [[Jurists and Legal Advocates]] - [[Technologists and Mathematicians]] - [[Resistance Hub]]