Being a woman in science in the early 1900s was difficult for American neurophysiologist Ida Hyde (1857-1945). Born in Davenport, Iowa, to German immigrant parents, she struggled to find a university that would accept her. She eventually earned a bachelor's degree at Cornell University and later became the first woman to earn a PhD in science at the University of Heidelberg, in Germany. Despite this, Hyde was still not acknowledged for her invention of the microelectrode until after her death. Since then, the microelectrode has revolutionized neuro-physiology. Hyde's electrode was so small that at the time her methods were among the first capable of studying single cells.
Hyde's research focused on the breathing mechanism and nervous systems of a range of organisms, from grasshoppers to humans. During her research, she invented the microelectrode so that she could deliver electrical or chemical stimuli to a cell and record the electrical activity from an individual cell. This way she could find out exactly what happens when a cell or nerve conducts electricity.
It was not until twenty years later, when the microelectrode was reinvented, in ignorance of Hyde's pioneering work, that it was used in extensive studies. Today they are an essential piece of equipment needed to examine electrical impulses in the brain. If Hyde has been recognized at the time then perhaps the microelectrode would have been used by neurologists decades earlier. It is difficult to guess how many years research was delayed simply because of sexist views about women scientists.
Hyde's experiences made her very concerned about women's education and she spent her later years lecturing on women's issues.
