Throughout history, women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) have paved the way for life as we know it today. For International Women’s Day we’ve put together our favourite 5 heroines to inspire us all.
There are of course inspiring women in all walks of life, and far too many to list in this blog post. We salute them all!
Ada Lovelace
Ada Lovelace was an English Mathematician in the 19th century. She is considered the first computer programmer, after discovering that a computer could follow a sequence of instructions. She was the first to understand that computers could carry a digital signal comprising multiple sets of information, from music to pictures and sound.
Ada based her programming on the Analytical Engine, an idea designed by her close friend Charles Babbage. Lovelace realised that the Analytical Engine could carry out an extensive sequence of mathematical operations. Only a small piece of the Analytical Engine was built before Ada’s death in 1852.
The second Tuesday of October each year is known as Ada Lovelace day in commemoration of her work. Her contributions have also been honoured through the naming of an early programming language, known as ‘Ada.’
Marie Curie
Marie Curie was a Polish born French Physicist, most known for her work on radioactivity. Her discovery showed that radium destroys diseased cells faster than healthy cells. This was revolutionary for the treatment of tumours.
For her research in the ‘radiation phenomena’, Curie became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize in 1903. French academics proposed to award the prize to only Curie’s husband and Henri Becqueral, who worked with her. Fortunately, they insisted she was included.
Later, Curie and her husband successfully undertook the task of isolating radium from pitchblende, the mineral containing elements such as uranium and radium. The isolation of radium allowed it to be used for ground-breaking cancer treatments. This led to Curie’s second Nobel Prize, making her the only person to be awarded Nobel Prizes in two scientific fields, Physics and Chemistry.
Hedy Lamarr
Although she may be best known for her career in acting, Hedy Lamarr invented extraordinary technology that has formed what we know as daily life today.
Using frequency hopping, she was able to guide radio controlled underwater missiles in a way that was undetectable to the enemy during World War Two. The basis of this technology formed todays Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth Communication Systems.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation honoured Lamarr’s contributions by jointly awarding her and her partner, George Antheil, their Pioneer Award in 1997. She earned a place among the 20th century’s most important female inventors.
Lamarr truly was a visionary whose technological advancements were far ahead of her time.
Mary Wilkes
Known for her commendable work on the LINC computer, Mary Wilkes is a former computer programmer and logic designer. Starting out she worked at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory, programming different computers for IBM. She remained working here while joining the LINC development team.
As a member of the LINC development team, she wrote the system software, including the interactive operating system LAP6, for the first personal computer (PC).
After her huge success with the LINC team she decided to retrain as a lawyer, but she will be always remembered as the first person to use a personal computer in the home.
Prof. Sarah Gilbert
After almost leaving the science industry, Professor Sarah Gilbert has become one of the most influential women in science of the 21st century so far.
After deciding to have one more go at a scientific career, she successfully led the development of the Oxford AstraZeneca Coronavirus vaccine. She describes the process as a series of small steps, rather than one breakthrough moment.
Previous to this Professor Gilbert specialised in producing and testing vaccines designed to induce T cell responses for over 10 years, using antigens from malaria and influenza. She also developed and tested the universal flu vaccine.
On International Women’s Day 2021 we celebrate what women have been able to achieve in STEM and continue to achieve today. They inspire us all and hopefully a new generation of women and girls will follow in their footsteps.
