To close out Women’s History Month, here are just a handful of amazing women that changed the game in their STEM fields.
Grace Hopper
Grace Hopper was a mathematician, computer science pioneer, and a Rear Admiral in the U.S. Navy. Hopper is best known for her trailblazing contributions to computer programming, software development, and the design and implementation of programming languages.
Read more about Grace Hopper here: https://president.yale.edu/biography-grace-murray-hopper
Elizabeth Blackwell
Elizabeth Blackwell was an advocate of women participating in the medical profession, becoming the first woman in America to receive a medical degree, and lead her to ultimately open her own medical college for women. She also helped found the National Health Society and published several books.
Read more about Elizabeth Blackwell’s story here: https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/elizabeth-blackwell
Katherine Johnson
Katherine Johnson was an African American mathematician and NASA researcher who played a vital role in the success of the first US crewed spaceflights. Her orbital mechanics calculations were crucial for sending the first American astronaut into orbit and landing astronauts on the moon.
Read more about Katherine Johnson here: https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/langley/katherine-johnson-biography/
Barbara Liskov
Barbara Liskov is a computer scientist, institute professor, and head of the Programming Methodology Group. In 1968 she became one of the first women in the United States to be awarded a computer science PhD after making significant contributions to programming languages and distributed computing.
Read more about Barbara Liskov here: https://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/liskov_1108679.cfm
Martha Haynes
Martha Haynes was an American mathematician and educator. She was the first African American woman to earn a PhD in mathematics, which she earned from the Catholic University of America in 1943. She taught in the public schools of Washington, DC for forty-seven years and was the first woman to chair the DC School Board.
Read more about Martha Haynes’s story here: https://www.math.buffalo.edu/mad/PEEPS/haynes.euphemia.lofton.html
Who is one of your favorite women that excelled in STEM and made history? Let us know in the comments!
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