I spent several days at work gathering information for a Women's History Month display only to find out that I couldn't put it up. Instead of all that effort being wasted, I decided to share some of the fascinating things I found. I was going to focus on women who accomplished (or are accomplishing) great things in the STEM areas, such as chemists, astronauts, mathematicians, and more. I found out we have women to thank for the internet and GPS. As you read this, thank Elizabeth Feinler for her contributions to the development of the internet! I did a lot more than the wonderful women below, but I didn't want this post to get too long. I'll probably share more later in the month.
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Grace Hopper was an American computer scientist, mathematician, and United States Navy rear admiral (originally known as commodore). She was a pioneer of computer programming. Hopper was the first to devise the theory of machine-independent programming languages, and used this theory to develop the FLOW-MATIC programming language and COBOL (COmmon Business-Oriented Language), an early high-level programming language still in use today.
Annie Easley was an African American computer scientist and mathematician who made critical contributions to NASA's rocket systems and energy technologies. In 1955, Easley got a job as a “computer” for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). She worked at the NACA Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory (which became NASA Lewis Research Center). When electronic computers started being used, her job title was changed to mathematician and computer technician. She worked on the Centaur high-energy upper rocket stage project, which led to the 1997 flight to Saturn of the Cassini probe, the launcher of which had the Centaur as its upper stage. That helped lay the technological foundations for future space shuttle launches.
Elizabeth Feinler is an American information scientist. From 1972 until 1989 she was director of the Network Information Systems Center at the Stanford Research Institute. Her group operated the Network Information Center (NIC) for the ARPANET as it evolved into the Defense Data Network (DDN) and the Internet. By 1974 she was the principal investigator to help plan and run the new NIC for the ARPANET. Her group developed the first Internet “yellow-” and “white-page” servers as well as the first query-based network host name and address (WHOIS) server. Her group managed the Host Naming Registry for the Internet from 1972 until 1989. Her group became the overall naming authority of the Internet, developing and managing the name registries of the top-level domains of .com, .gov, .edu, .org, and .mil. So, the next time you type .com, .edu, or whatever, thank Elizabeth and her team!
Stephanie Kwolek was a Polish American chemist who graduated from Margaret Morrison Carnegie College in 1946. After college she began her career DuPont, which spanned more than 40 years. At DuPont, Kwolek created fibers strong enough to withstand steel bullets. Most notably, Kwolek is known for inventing Kevlar® — a heat-resistant material that’s stronger than steel and lighter than fiberglass. Kevlar® is still used today to protect and save lives, including in products like bulletproof vests, helmets, and more. She also developed the ‘nylon rope trick’ chemistry demonstration.
Dr. Brosseau was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia and received a BScH degree in chemistry from Dalhousie University. Her MSc degree was completed in 2003 under the supervision of Prof. Sharon Roscoe at Acadia University. In 2007, she completed a PhD at the University of Guelph. In 2009 Dr. Brosseau joined the Chemistry department at Saint Mary's University as an Assistant Professor, and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2014. In 2013, she received a Discovery Award in the Emerging Professional category from the Discovery Centre in Halifax, NS. Dr. Brosseau was named the Canada Research Chair in Sustainable Chemistry and Materials in 2016. In 2018, Dr. Brosseau was awarded the Anderson Award for Excellence in Teaching and Research at the undergraduate level, and in 2019 Dr. Brosseau was awarded the President's Award for Excellence in Research. She is the head of the Brosseau Lab for Sustainable Chemistry and Materials Research at St. Mary’s University. (Special thanks to Dr. Brosseau for allowing me to use the photos and information from her website!)
Katherine Johnson was an American mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first and subsequent U.S. crewed spaceflights. She had a 33-year career at NASA and during that time, she earned a reputation for mastering complex manual calculations and helped pioneer the use of computers to perform the tasks. After electronic computers started being used, John Glenn refused to fly unless Katherine double checked the math calculations.
Gladys West is an American mathematician. She is known for her contributions to mathematical modeling of the shape of the Earth, and her work on the development of satellite geodesy models, that were later incorporated into the Global Positioning System (GPS). In 1986, West published Data Processing System Specifications for the Geosat Satellite Radar Altimeter, a 51-page technical report from the Naval Surface Weapons Center (NSWC). West received many awards and recognition for her invaluable work.
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