May 7, 2008, New Rochelle, NY -- As the Nobel Foundation recognizes the 55th anniversary of the discovery of the structure of DNA, the newly formed Rosalind Franklin Society celebrates the contribution of the late Rosalind Franklin, whose crystallographic data made this breakthrough possible.
Although Franklin was not included in the Nobel Prize awarded to the late Francis Crick, the late Maurice Wilkins, and James Watson for solving the structure of DNA, today the importance and beauty of her work is recognized in nearly every modern molecular biology and general biology textbook. The purpose of the Rosalind Franklin Society is to foster greater recognition of the outstanding contributions made by women to the life sciences. Since the Nobel's beginning in 1901, only 12 prizes out of 419 have been given to women in the sciences (physics, chemistry, and medicine). As the Nobel Foundation rejoices in the discovery that was recognized by the 1962 prize, we hope that they will take this opportunity to appropriately acknowledge the seminal contributions of Dr. Franklin as well.
The Rosalind Franklin Society urges the Nobel Foundation to consider future recognition of more of the truly great women scientists of the 21st century.
Jo Handelsman, PhD, President
University of Wisconsin
Mary Ann Liebert, Founder & Executive Vice President
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. Publishers
Rosalind A. Grymes, PhD, Strategic Planning Officer
NASA Ames Research Center
Rosalind Franklin Society 140 Huguenot St. 3rd Floor, New Rochelle, NY 10801-5215
Phone: (914) 740-2100 Fax: (914) 740-2101
www.rosalindfranklinsociety.org