Stephanie Kwolek

Even in my neighborhood, the kids come to me for interviews for their term papers. I ask them later what grades they got, and they're always A-pluses.

I guess that's just the life of an inventor: what people do with your ideas takes you totally by surprise.

I hope I'm saving lives. There are very few people in their careers that have the opportunity to do something to benefit mankind.

Not long ago, I got to meet some troopers whose lives had been saved. They came with their wives, their children, their parents. It was a very moving occasion.