Andrew Stofan Rocket scientist
Stofan’s groundbreaking work made manned and unmanned rocket launches possible, and massively safer.
From This is True for 2 November 2025
research
Misc basic researchers not under invention/medical/computing/etc.
Chaser Good girl!
First things first: Chaser was a dog, but indeed a special one. She was owned by Dr. John W. Pilley, a psychology professor at Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C. One of his favored fields of research was animal cognition, so perhaps it is not surprising he loved animals; Chaser was a gift from his wife, … Read more
From This is True for 28 July 2019
Charles Kuen Kao Broadband enabler
Kao is considered not just the “Father of Fibre Optics” but also the “Godfather of Broadband”.
From This is True for 23 September 2018
Erik Hauri Rock sniffer
Using research techniques he developed himself, Hauri proved that the lunar soil has about 100 times the water than thought.
From This is True for 9 September 2018
Hanabi-ko “Koko” the gorilla
Patterson taught Koko American Sign Language.
From This is True for 24 June 2018
Stanley Falkow Microbe Hunter
He urged the non-medical use of antibiotics to be banned, but Congress refused to take action.
From This is True for 13 May 2018
James Holland Cancer researcher
With Holland’s protocols, the child acute lymphoblastic leukemia death rate dropped from 70 percent to less than 20 percent.
From This is True for 1 April 2018
Michel Jouvet Pioneering sleep researcher
With Jouvet’s discoveries, it became clear our brains were actively working on something during sleep.
From This is True for 8 October 2017
Maryam Mirzakhani Math professor
What Mirzakhani was doing is so deep, you probably can’t understand it unless you’re an advanced mathematician. I can’t.
From This is True for 16 July 2017
Jim Stewart Scuba trainer
Stewart created diving safety training for researchers, the military, and even astronauts.
From This is True for 11 June 2017