In the early part of the 20th century, biologists were just beginning to investigate the chemical reactions that occur within cells. Ida Hyde's invention of the microelectrode, a device essential to the study of muscle and brain cells (see "Mind-Machine Merger"), was a landmark achievement, but she was not recognized for the invention in her lifetime.

As a teenager in the 1870s, Hyde helped support her family by working as an apprentice at a Chicago clothing factory. In spite of her family's disapproval, Hyde's ambitions were in academia, not women's wear. After years of night school classes, Hyde was accepted at Cornell University. She earned a bachelor's degree in biology in 1891 and continued with graduate work at the Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory.