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Helen Murray Free, chemist who revolutionized diabetes testing, dies at 98 Emily Langer © J. Scott Applewhite/AP Helen Murray Free receives the National Medal of Technology and Innovation from President Barack Obama. When Helen Murray Free entered college in 1941, young women enjoyed few professional opportunities upon their graduation. For the most part, she said, they could hope to become “secretaries, nurses or teachers.” In keeping with the limitations of her time, Mrs. Free had enrolled at the College of Wooster in Ohio planning to become an English and Latin teacher. But when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, precipitating the U.S. entry into World War II, her horizons shifted. As young men emptied out of college campuses to join the armed forces, their seats in university science courses were suddenly vacant, although the country still needed scientists.

United statesEast lansingCentral michigan universityCollege of woosterJ scott applewhiteBarack obamaCharles alfred mikeHelen mae murrayHelen murray freeJane lindermanNina lovejoyNational inventors hallFree national medal of technologyNational medal of technologyNational women hallAmerican chemical society