2.2 Rosenberg. Percy Lavon Julian

12

engine that told it when to perform different calculations. Ada famously said, “the Analytical Engine weaves algebraic patterns, just as the Jacquard loom weaves flowers and leaves.” Interestingly, until the 1980s computers ran on punch cards, which were very similar to the papers used for the Jacquard loom and the Analytical Engine. Ada believed that math and music were related and was the first person to think about how the Analytical Engine could be applied not just to computations, but also to the more creative fields of music and art.

Ada’s most famous work was when she translated an article by Italian Luigi Menebra about the analytical engine from French to English. She added her own notes at the end, which were labeled A to G, and were longer than the original article. In note G, she wrote an algorithm for the Analytical Engine that could be used to calculate the Bernoulli numbers. This is considered the world’s first computer program. She also wrote about artificial intelligence, saying that the engine was not able to have original ideas. Alan Turing, the father of modern computer science, later disputed this claim. Ada’s notes were published in Taylor’s Scientific Memoirs in 1843, when she was only 28 years old, under her initials, A.A.L.

In 1835, Ada married William, the 8th Baron of King, and they had three children. In 1838, he was made Earl of Lovelace while Ada became the countess of Lovelace. Not only was Ada able to achieve great scientific success, but she also had a family; she really did it all. This pioChapter 2. Biographies

neer of computer science unfortunately died at the young age of 36, on November 27, 1852, from uterine cancer. However, her legacy still lives on today. Ada Lovelace day was created in 2009 to celebrate women in STEM. It is celebrated on the second Tuesday of October with people all over the world holding celebrations in Ada’s honor. There have also been many books written about Ada Lovelace, which continue to spread her creative ideas. There is even a computer language named Ada after her.

Ada Lovelace was a creative and imaginative child, and she used her mind to learn mathematics and then to write the first computer program using this knowledge. Her legacy has lasted to this day, and it is with good reason that she was called by her friend, “The enchantress of numbers.”

References [1] Adrian Hollings Christopher. Martin Ursula. Rice. The Making of a Computer Scientist. Bodleian Library, 2019. [2] Emily Arnold McCully. Dreaming in Code. Candlewick Press, 2019. [3] Diane Stanley. Ada Lovelace Poet of Science: The First Computer Programmer. Simon & Schuster, 2016. [4] Laurie Wallmark. Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine. Greston Books, 2015.

2.2 Percy Lavon Julian

By Reed Rosenberg ’24

Percy Lavon Julian was born in 1899 and would live a decorated 76 years of full of discovery and innovation. He was an American chemist who was born the grandson of enslaved people in Montgomery, Alabama. Julian grew up in a time when African-Americans faced prejudice not just in school but in all aspects of life. He graduated from DePauw University in Indiana as valedictorian in 1920, and he then received his master’s degree in organic chemistry from Harvard University, followed by a doctorate in chemistry of medicinal plants at the University of Vienna in Austria.

Julian was one of the chemists who first discovered how to synthesize and produce large amounts of steroids from plant compounds. Prior to this, steroids were extracted from animal tissue and fluids, which was very expensive. Julian and his team were able to create these same steroids in the lab, making the process much cheaper and therefore more widely accessible. One of his first major successes was a total synthesis of physostigmine, which is the active principle of the Calabar bean. Physostigmine eases the constriction of outflow channels in the eye’s aqueous humor which relieves high pressure in the retina of the eye and causes glaucoma. If this condition is not treated, it can cause blindness. Percy Lavon Julian is also credited with being one of the chemists who discovered how to synthesize cortisone (which is cortical hormone produced in the adrenal gland) and hydrocortisone inexpensively.

Julian’s research is important to understanding chemistry today because he discovered how to synthesize medicinal compounds from plant sources. This enabled many medicinal compounds to be able to be mass produced and done so at affordable prices.

Through a by-product of his research of the Physostigmine synthesis, German chemists discovered the steroid stigmasterol. Julian developed a method for converting stigmasterol into progesterone which allowed it to be available on a large scale. Today, progesterone is used for many medical reasons, including decreasing the risk of uterine cancer and also for hormone replacement therapy.

2.2 Rosenberg. Percy Lavon Julian 13

Julian also developed a new synthesis for Substance S. This differs from cortisone by one oxygen atom. Discovering this allowed Julian to synthesize cortisone as well as hydrocortisone. This discovery has helped with many medical conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and made for more affordable treatments for arthritis patients.

Another major impact that Julian had on chemistry today was his ability to refine a soya protein. This protein became the main base of Aero-Foam. Aero-Foam is a foam fire extinguishing product that was used to fight fires during World War II by the Navy. Julian’s work and research on soybeans launched a huge growth in the soybean industry.

His work discovering new uses for the chemicals that are found in soybeans has helped to eliminate all kinds of suffering in the world.

References [1] Britannica. Percy Julian. Apr. 2022. URL: https: / / www . britannica . com / biography / Percy Julian. [2] Science History Institute. Percy Lavon Julian. URL: https : / / www . sciencehistory . org / historical- profile/percy- lavon- julian. [3] pbs.org. Who Was Percy Julian? URL: https : / / www . pbs . org / wgbh / nova / julian / lrk whowasjulian- exp.html.