Helen Murray Free

HELEN MURRAY FREE 

Helen Murray Free was born January 20, 1923 in Pittsburgh but now she lives in Indiana. He is an American citizen and is still alive at 95 years old.

She received President Obama's National Medal for Technology and Innovation in 2009 

STUDIES

Helen attended public school in Youngstown, Ohio, and graduated in 1941 as the best high school student at the Polish Seminary.

Influenced by her high school English teacher, she wanted to specialize in English and Latin because she wanted to become a teacher but these plans soon changed. 

In December 1941, when Pearl Harbor was bombed, many men either enlisted them or were recruited into the army. Because of this, women were encouraged to change their studies and Helen changed her major to chemistry. 

INVENTION

Urine test strips  

Helen Murray Free her discovery was an inicator for detecting glucose, she worked with urine tests, including a brand called Clinistix in 1956, these tests detected glucose, Ketone and Bilirubin. Helen Free, along with her husband Alfred, created the test strips that are used worldwide to monitor diabetes by revealing the presence of glucose in the patient's urine. These are strips a few millimetres wide,full of chemicals, which when in contact with the compounds in the urine react to any pathological change. 

In 1956, Helen Murray Free launched the first colorimetric test strips under the name Clinistix, a major breakthrough in the rapid and effective analysis of glucose concentrations in urine. 

These tests have been important not only in urine tests, but also in blood studies. 

  

YEARS LATER

After retirement, she became an active promoter of science education. She has devoted special attention to the education of disadvantaged women and students, through programs such as "Kids & Chemistry" and "Expanding Your Horizons". 

 

AWARDS

• Garvan–Olin Medal (1980) 
• Kilby Award (1996) 
• National Inventors Hall of Fame (2000) 
• National Medal of Technology and Innovation (2009)by President Barack Obama 
• She served as president of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry in 1990 and in 2006 received its prestigious award for Outstanding Contributions to Clinical Chemistry.
• In 1993 she was elected president of the American Chemical Society.The ACS named an award in her honor, the Helen M. Free Award in Public Outreach.

REFERENCES

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Murray_Free

https://www.womenofthehall.org/inductee/helen-murray-free/

https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/diagnosticteststrips.html

                                                                                                 By: Candela Guajardo León