Alice A. Ball

Alice Augusta Ball was an American chemist who developed the "Ball Method" for making ethyl ester derivatives of chaulmoogra oil, which were used as a treatment for leprosy during the early 20th century. She was the first woman and first African American to receive a master's degree from the University of Hawaiʻi, and was also the university's first female and African American chemistry professor. She died at age 24 and her contributions to science were not recognized until many years after her death.