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The first American woman to receive a degree in engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, in civil engineering. Her thesis was entitled “A Solution of a Peculiar Problem in Surveying.”
Elizabeth Bragg
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She was brought up to be a mathematician and scientist and was one of the most picturesque characters in computer history. In 1843, she wrote a scientific paper that anticipated the development of computer software, artificial intelligence, and computer music. A software language developed by the U.S. Department of Defense was named in her honor in 1979.
Ada Byron Lovelace
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The first woman admitted to MIT. She pioneered the field of environmental engineering with her groundbreaking research in water contamination. Her work set the standard for the United States and the world.
Ellen Swallow Richards
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She designed a machine that automatically planed beveled gears, revolutionizing gearmaking. She became the first woman elected to full membership in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the first woman elected to the Rochester Engineering Society.
Kate Gleason |
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Was a chemist, receiving her Ph.D. in chemistry at the age of 22, and bacteriologist. She headed the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She invented the insulated train car, cooled with ice, that allowed long-distance transportation of perishable food for the first time.
Mary Engle Pennington
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Discovered the polymade solvent which led to the production of Kevlar, a material five times stronger than the same weight of steel. Many police officers owe their lives to her for Kevlar is the material used in bullet-proof vests. She was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1994 as only the fourth woman member of 113.
Stephanie L. Kwolek
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American engineer, lawyer, and writer. She delivered a moving speech, on behalf of her husband, before the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). This was the first time a woman formally addressed the organization. When her husband became ill and was incapacitated, she took over the supervision of the work and saw to completion the building of the bridge. The trustees credited her contribution to the project by posting a plaque on one tower for her outstanding achievement and undying dedication.
Emily Warren Roebling |
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The 1985 flight engineer on the Space Shuttle Atlantis. A veteran of two space flights, she has logged a total of 10 days, 22 hours, 02 minutes, 24 seconds in space, orbited the earth 172 times, and traveled 3.94 million miles. She was Project Manager for an innovative satellite program that monitors the health of global oceans. She is currently Deputy Associate Administrator (Advanced Planning) for Earth Sciences at NASA Headquarters.
Dr. Mary L. Cleave
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Master pilot, astrophysicist, aeronautical genius, lauded educator, prolific writer, and compassionate human being are a few of her accomplishments. Formerly head of MIT’s Fluid Dynamics Research Laboratory. Upon retiring as Secretary of the Air Force, the only woman to ever head a military service, she has again resumed her career at MIT.
Dr. Sheila E. Widnall
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Invented an anti-jamming device for use against Nazi radar. Later, Sylvania adapted the design for a device that today speeds satellite communications around the world.
Hedy Lamarr
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NASA astronaut who helped to develop the ceramic tiles that enable space shuttles to survive re-entry. She has had an opportunity to test those tiles firsthand as a four-time astronaut, including a stint on the first shuttle mission to dock with the Russian Space Station Mir.
Bonnie Dunbar Ph.D |
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Computer engineer and Rear Admiral in the U.S. Navy, who developed the first computer compiler in 1952 and the computer program language COBOL. Upon discovering that a moth had jammed the works of an early computer, popularized the term “bug.”
Grace Murray Hopper |
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First female graduate of N.C. State University’s College of Engineering ~ Initially denied admission. Later hired by the Civil Aeronautics Administration as its first female engineer.
Katherine Stinson |
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She became the first woman member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Was considered a pioneer in the field of time-and-motion studies. She was also a delegate to the World Power Congress and served as an advisor to every President from Hoover to Johnson
Lillian Moller Gilbreth Ph.D |
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She holds the distinction of being the first woman with a doctorate from the California Institute of Technology, and was also the youngest director of the institute.
Arati Prabhakar |
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Responsible for much of the research and discovery work that led to the understanding of the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid, DNA.
Rosalind Elsie Franklin |
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Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1947 after publishing the structure of penicillin and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1964 for her solution of vitamin B-12. Her contribution to the solution of the insulin structure came in 1969, after 34 years of struggle.
Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin |
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First American woman lofted into space: Sally Ride
First African American woman in space: Mae Jemison
First Hispanic woman in space: Ellen Ochoa
First Amierican military woman in space: Susan Helms
First woman shuttle pilot: Eileen Collins |
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Discovered that atomic nuclei have shells that are similar to the electron shells of atoms. All the particles moving in the same orbit rotate in the same direction. When she won the Nobel Prize in 1963 in Physics, the local headlines read, “La Jolla mother wins Nobel Prize.”
Dr. Maria Goeppert-Mayer |
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In 1879, she developed a method of deflecting smoke stack emissions through water tanks and later adapted the system for use on locomotives. She also devised a noise reduction system for elevated railroads, and sold the rights to her patent to the Metropolitan Railroad of New York City.
Mary Walton |
