20th-century American scientists

James Van Gundia Neel (March 22, 1915 – February 1, 2000) was an American geneticist who played a key role in the development of human genetics as a field of research in the United States. He made important contributions to the emergence of genetic epidemiology and pursued an understanding of the influence of environment on genes. In his early work, he studied sickle-cell disease and thalassemia conducted research on the effects of radiation on survivors of the Hiroshima atomic bombing.

Anne MacKaye Chapman (January 27, 1922 – June 12, 2010) was a Franco-American ethnologist who focused on the people of Mesoamerica writing several books, co-producing movies, and capturing sound recordings of rare languages from the Northern Triangle of Central America to Cape Horn in South America.

Gordon Murray Shepherd (21 July 1933 – 9 June 2022) was an American neuroscientist who carried out basic experimental and computational research on how neurons are organized into microcircuits to carry out the functional operations of the nervous system. Using the olfactory system as a model that spans multiple levels of space, time and disciplines, his studies ranged from molecular to behavioral, recognized by an annual lecture at Yale University on "integrative neuroscience". At the time of his death, he was professor of neuroscience emeritus at the Yale School of Medicine. He graduated from Iowa State University with a BA, Harvard Medical School with an MD, and the University of Oxford with a DPhill.

Robert Frank Borkenstein (August 31, 1912 – August 10, 2002) was an American inventor, researcher, and professor. His inventions include the Breathalyzer.

Mary Rosamond Haas (January 23, 1910 – May 17, 1996) was an American linguist who specialized in North American Indian languages, Thai, and historical linguistics. She served as president of the Linguistic Society of America. She was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Richard Sumner Cowan (January 23, 1921 – November 17, 1997) was an American botanist.

Jimmie Coker Holland (April 9, 1928 – December 24, 2017) was a founder of the field of psycho-oncology. In 1977, she worked with two colleagues to establish a full-time psychiatric service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. The program was one of the first of its kind in cancer treatment, and trained its psychologists to specialize in issues specific to people with cancer.

Helen Matusevich Oujesky (August 14, 1930 – February 1, 2010) was an American professor of microbiology at the University of Texas, San Antonio. In this capacity she actively pursued environmental research on pollution of soil and water, particularly of toxic wastes.In her career span of 45 years in the field of education and research, Oujesky was the recipient of several awards such as from the National Science Foundation, Student Science Training Programs for High School Students, Minority Research Programs for Minority High School Students, and an Intervention Model Program for Girls Using Laboratory Activities in Science, Math and Engineering. On 30 January 1997, her name was incorporated in the Texas Women's Hall of Fame.

Karel Jan Bossart (February 9, 1904 – August 3, 1975) was an innovative rocket designer and creator of the Atlas ICBM. His achievements rank alongside those of Wernher von Braun and Sergei Korolev. But as most of his work was for the United States Air Force and was therefore classified, his achievements are not widely known.