Innovations

Brill developed the concept for a new rocket engine, inventing the Electrothermal Hydrazine Thruster (EHT/Resistojet) for which she holds US Patent No. 3,807,657. Her innovation resulted in not only higher engine performance, but also increased the reliability of the propulsion system. She also proposed the use of a single propellant because of the value and simplicity that it would provide. The reduction in propellant weight requirements enabled either increased payload capability or extended mission life. The Resistojet proved to be more suitable for controlling satellites’ orbit and their communication. Her invention became a standard in the industry and has translated into millions of dollars of increased revenue for commercial communications satellite owners.

Crews’ work focused on protecting Spacecraft and satellites from impacts from space debris and meteoroids. It was evident that when a spacecraft collides with even minuscule pieces of space debris the damage and impact could be severe. After multiple tests, Crews soon realized that the aluminum that is used normally to build spacecraft was especially vulnerable to debris collisions. The solution she thought of was a shield comprising "multiple layers of ceramic fabric, open-cell foam and other materials." This layered shield repeatedly shocked impacting particles in order to protect the spacecraft. She created a shield from fabric to make it weigh less, yet have more strength. This is known as the flexible multi-shock shield.

Ericsson has served as an engineer, technologist, instrument lead, and project and program manager at NASA for nearly 30 years, lending her technical and managerial expertise to projects including the James Webb Space Telescope, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), and the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2).

Norwood designed the Multispectral Scanner first used on Landsat 1, which enabled scientists to map & study the Earth. She also designed the microwave transmitter Surveyor 1 used to transmit data & images back to earth. Norwood continued to oversee Landsat 1-5 (#10 is scheduled for launch in 2030). She has been referred to as "The Mother of Landsat". She holds 3 patents (1 is classified) for her contribution to the Landsat program.

Working at NASA Ames Research Center, Cowings developed and patented a physiological training system called Autogenic-Feedback Training Exercise (AFTE), which enables people to learn voluntary self-control of up to 24 bodily responses in six hours. Her work was first tested in 1985, first focusing on ridding the astronaut's motion sickness. Later she trained four cosmonauts to control both motion sickness and low blood pressure after six months in space aboard the MIR space station. She found success with her biofeedback methods and continued to teach people how to control motion sickness, improve the performance of search and rescue pilots, and reduce symptoms of several patient populations experiencing nausea, dizziness and fainting.

Nash-Stevenson joined the United States Army Ballistic Missile Defense Systems Command. She holds a patent for an optical fiber holder. She joined the instrumentation group in Marshall Space Flight Center's avionics lab, where she worked for nearly ten years. She was awarded a NASA Fellowship in 1998, and eventually joined the space craft and vehicle systems group. During her career Nash-Stevenson worked on photon upconversion (UC). This is a process in which the sequential absorption of two or more photons leads to the emission of light at shorter wavelength than the excitation wavelength. An example is the conversion of infrared light to visible light. Upconversion can take place in both organic and inorganic materials, through a number of different mechanisms.

Ochoa was enticed by optical systems and committed to improving its applications for performing information processing. She wanted to help computers "see". NASA later recognized her methods in optics could be used in fabricating such as inspecting for flaws, or it might be used on a space vehicle such as the Rover. At the NASA Ames Research Center, she led a research group working primarily on optical systems for automated space exploration. At Sandia National Laboratories, she applied what she knew about optics to the research being done on nuclear weapons. She patented an optical system to detect defects in a repeating pattern and is a co-inventor on three patents for an optical inspection system, an optical object recognition method, and a method for noise removal in images.

Thomas invented the illusion transmitter , which uses two parabolic mirrors to transmit 3-D illusions of an object by use of a camera trained on the first mirror, which then sends video signals to a projector aimed at the second mirror. She developed it for the purpose of sending three-dimensional images across a distance. As of 2022, the technology is still used by NASA and is being adapted for use in surgery, as well as for televisions and video screens. Thomas also developed the digital media formats image processing systems used in the early years of NASA's Landsat program. After retiring from NASA in 1995, she has continued to mentor children for careers in STEM & works as a substitute teacher.

held 12 patents for farm buildings

cotton breeder who breeds naturally colored varieties of cotton; inventor of FoxFibre & founder of Natural Cotton Colors Inc (1989) breeds pest-resistant plants; has created 2 naturally colored cottons & launched Foxfibre Colorganics; also has received a utility patent for the flame resistant properties she discovered and bred in Coyote and Buffalo Fox Fibre®;

In the early 1970s, Appelhof began experimenting with worms and organic waste. Her home worm container would become a new career. Her vision at the time of the Stockholm Conference for the Human Environment (1972) was "tons of worms could be eating tons of garbage." Soon she was publicly advocating using the earthworm to recycle food waste. As "Worm Woman," she introduced thousands of schoolchildren and home gardeners to vermicomposting. Her 1982 book Worms Eat My Garbage is still held as seminal reading in the field of vermicomposting.

Reportedly received a patent for making lubricated molds to preserve her butter sculptures but no patent was located; preferred sculpting in butter even after she learned how to use marble; 1st American butter sculptess

Hallock-Greenewalt named her new color-music Nourathar, an adaptation of the Arabic words for light (nour), and essence of (athar). Unlike earlier inventors of color-music such as the painter A. Wallace Rimington, Hallock-Greenewalt did not produce a strict definition of correspondence between specific colors and particular notes, instead arguing that these relationships were inherently variable and reflected the temperament and ability of the performer. Her earliest attempts at creating this art entailed construction of an automated machine where colored lights were synchronized to records. This produced an unsatisfactory result, leading to development of an instrument that could actually be played live. Her color organ, which she named "Sarabet" after her mother, required her to invent a number of new technologies. She received nine patents from the US Patent office for them. Among these devices was a non-linear variety of rheostat, a patent that was infringed by General Electric and other companies. She sued them for infringement and won in 1934. The Sarabet went through a series of refinements between 1916 and 1934. In 1946 she published a book on her invented art of "light-color playing" called Nourathar: The Fine Art of Light-Color Playing.

invented a method of repairing Native American pottery with materials that match the original

was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of a black hole in the Milky Ways' galactic center; created the UCLA Galactic Center Group to coordinate research and technical developments; January 2020, her team reported the discovery of a new class of bizarre objects — objects that look like gas and behave like stars — at the center of our galaxy, not far from the supermassive black hole; helped pioneer a powerful technology called adaptive optics, which corrects the distorting effects of the Earth’s atmosphere in real time and opened the center of our galaxy as a laboratory for exploring black holes and their fundamental role in the evolution of the universe; published “You Can Be a Woman Astronomer” in 1995; took the first clear photo of the Milky Way; co-authored the book “The Galactic Center: A Window to the Nuclear Environment of Disk Galaxies;” developed a technique known as speckle imaging, which combines many short exposures from a telescope into a single, crisper image;

* Shore led groundbreaking research on how the brain processes bi-sensory information, and how these processes can be harnessed for personalized stimulation to treat tinnitus. * With that she developed together with David Martel the Michigan Tinnitus Device, based on research which found that auditory and somatosensory stimuli delivered to the face and neck reduces tinnitus by engaging damaged nerve cells to strengthen them to normal levels.

patented the Style Mate-a device that will tell you what color/style of clothing you are holding to help blind people coordinate outfits; created a non-profit organization ( IMperfeKtlymade Foundation) supporting the visually impaired; her mini-memoir sharing her journey titled "Life as I See It" was published in January 2025;

In a visit to New York City in the winter of 1902, Anderson sat in a trolley car on a frosty day. She observed that the trolley car driver struggled to see past the windows because of the falling sleet. To clear the sights, the driver needed to open the window, lean out of the vehicle, or stop the car to go outside in order to wipe the windscreen with his or her hands. Anderson, who was not an engineer but an entrepreneur, identified the problem and its opportunity. She envisioned a windshield wiper blade that the trolley driver could operate from the inside. Her new device consisted of a lever inside the vehicle that controlled a rubber blade on the outside of the windshield. The lever could be operated to cause the spring-loaded arm to move back and forth across the windshield. A counterweight was used to ensure contact between the wiper and the window. The device could be easily removed if desired after the winter was over. She applied for, and in 1903 was granted, a 17-year patent for a windshield wiper. The patent application was filed on June 18, 1903. On November 10, 1903, the United States Patent Office awarded Anderson patent number 743,801 for her Window Cleaning device.

Bridgwood decided to improve Mary Anderson's manual windshield wipers, in which people had to use levers to operate the windshield wipers. Through her manufacturing company, she invented automatic windshield wipers that she called "Electric Storm Windshield Cleaner". She patented the first electrically powered windshield wiper in 1917, however her wiper used rollers rather than blades and did not catch on. Bridgwood never brought her design into full production, so the patent expired in 1920. Since US patent law no longer protected her product’s propriety, it was only a matter of time until large car manufacturers picked up her design. Cadillac was the first company to adopt the design two years later. Charlotte Bridgwood’s invention was left without much recognition.

Noticing inefficiencies in the previous insulators, Barlett used her previous knowledge in mineralogy and petrology, as well as the knowledge gained through experience working for AC Spark Plug (General Motors), to introduce a ceramic spark plug insulator made of material which would last longer as a result of its higher heat resistance and would require less maintenance overall. By encasing the spark plugs, she had made possible for them to become quite durable. Prior to the design changes, spark plugs would get covered in byproducts spewed by the engine and had to be manually cleaned every 70 to 150 kilometers for the vehicle to function effectively. Alumina insulator material allows plugs to handle high heat and voltage within the spark plug, enabling vehicles to operate in a cleaner and, in turn, more efficient manner.

While working at automotive companies, Baranescu has specialized in research in automotive diesel engines. Specifically she focuses on alternative fuels and optimization in emissions and performance of the engines. Baranescu was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 2001 for research leading to effective and environmentally sensitive diesel and alternative-fuel engines and leadership in automotive engineering.

took first long-distance (66 miles) car ride in a combustion powered engine 8/8/1888; financially assisted in development of Motorwagen; suggested adding a third gear to car; made suggestions for improving fuel line design; invented first leather brake lining; added insulation to ignition wiring

Epps' work in research at Ford Motor Company resulted in a provisional patent involving the application of magnetostrictive actuators to reduce vibrations in the suspension control arms, and later, a US patent for detection of the location of a frontal collision in an automobile. Following this, Epps was selected for astronaut training and works for NASA.

Davis has worked for BD Advanced Design at Collins Aerospace for several years. She holds six patents related to aircraft.

* At Yale, Doudna's group was able to crystallize and solve the three-dimensional structure of the catalytic core of the Tetrahymena Group I ribozyme. * Showed that a core of five magnesium ions clustered in one region of the P4-P6 domain of the ribozyme, forming a hydrophobic core around which the rest of the structure could fold. * This is analogous but chemically distinct from, the way proteins typically have a core of hydrophobic amino acids. * This initial work to solve large RNA structures led to further structural studies on an internal ribosome entry site (IRES) and protein-RNA complexes such as the signal recognition particle.

* Doudna and Charpentier are best known for their Nobel-winning work of deciphering the molecular mechanisms of a bacterial immune system, called CRISPR/Cas9, and repurposing it into a tool for genome editing. * The protein Cas9 cooperates with guide RNA and works like scissors to slice apart the DNA of viruses, preventing the infection of the bacteria. * Doudna and Charpentier showed for the first time that they could use different RNAs to program it to cut and edit different DNAs.

her research focuses on shortening time-to-diagnosis for bloodstream infections through rapid pathogen identification; works in rare cell & biomarker capture; goal of Nanopath was to get diagnostic timeline down to less than 1 hour & has beaten that by having a Urinary Tract Infection test which has results ready in 15 minutes currentl y in hospital testing for FDA approval; Nanopath claims to identify DNA & RNA without the use of any nucleic acid ampliofication technology (NAAT) to screen for potential disease & get results within 15 minutes so treatment can begin before the medical appointment is over; currently only able to identify HPV & urinary tract infections; has 2 pending patents

* Bhatia’s research was one of the first projects at MIT of biological micro-electromechanical systems, or Bio-MEMS * Uses arrays of living cells as high-throughput platforms to study fundamental aspects of Bio-MEMS in stem cells * Her doctoral work focused on the development of a way to keep liver cells functioning outside of the human body *Adapted ideas from computer chip design and engineering to the microfabrication of a substrate for liver cells * Applied techniques from photolithography to petri dishes, to create a substrate that would support growth of a functioning microliver in a dish * Use of techniques from 3D printing to create a lattice of sugar as a framework for a synthetic vascular system with the goal of supporting larger tissue structures such as an artificial liver.

Anseth is developing photopolymers that will change from soft to hard in response to cues such as ultraviolet light, and then degrade predictably over time. Such materials could be used to for orthopedic repairs, functioning as a replacement for damaged areas of bone and then slowly being replaced by regrowth of natural material as the body heals. Her pioneering approach applies photopolymerization and photodegradation to enable precise control in space and time of hydrogels' structure and composition. This research involves fundamental investigations into the molecular dynamics of processes at the cell-biomaterial interface.

At Medtronic, Inc., Bergman led a research and development team of scientists and engineers in the company’s Cardiac Rhythm Disease Management (CRDM) business. Her team developed interventional vascular devices & drug delivery systems. She has been recognized for her biomaterials and biosciences R&D, new therapy development, and information management initiatives.

Federoff pioneered DNA sequencing and worked out the nucleotide sequence of the first complete gene. In 1978 she worked on the molecular characterization of maize transposable elements or jumping genes, and plant stress response.

In 1982 Earle and her later husband, Graham Hawkes, an engineer and submersible designer, founded Deep Ocean Engineering to design, operate, support and consult on piloted and robotic subsea systems. In 1985, the Deep Ocean Engineering team designed and built the Deep Rover research submarine, which operates down to 1,000 metres (3,300 ft). By 1986, Deep Rover had been tested and Earle joined the team conducting training off Lee Stocking Island in the Bahamas. Earle left the company in 1990 to accept an appointment as Chief Scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, where she stayed until 1992. She was the first woman to hold that position. During this post, given her expertise on the impact of oil spills, Earle was called upon to lead several research trips during the Persian Gulf War in 1991 to determine the environmental damage caused by Iraq's destruction of Kuwaiti oil wells. In 1992, Earle founded Deep Ocean Exploration and Research (DOER Marine) to further advance marine engineering. The company, now run by Earle's daughter Elizabeth, designs, builds, and operates equipment for deep-ocean environments.

Wong-Staal was the first scientist to clone HIV and determine the function of its genes. This was a major step in proving that HIV is the cause of AIDS; it showed the amount of TAT proteins within a cell infected by HIV-1 is directly correlated to the number of Kaposi's sarcoma lesions a patient may have. This was essential in developing new treatments for HIV/AIDS patients with lesions. Wong-Staal continued her research into gene therapy, using a ribozyme "molecular knife" to repress HIV in stem cells. The protocol she developed was the second to be funded by the United States government. In 1990 a team of researchers led by Wong-Staal studied the effects that the Tat protein within the viral strain HIV-1 would have on the growth of cells found within Kaposi's sarcoma lesions commonly found in AIDS patients.

Greider and Blackburn were awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for their discovery that telomeres are protected from progressive shortening by the enzyme telomerase. They were looking for the enzyme that was hypothesized to add extra DNA bases to the ends of chromosomes. Without the extra bases, which are added as repeats of a six-base pair motif, chromosomes are shortened during DNA replication, eventually resulting in chromosome deterioration and senescence or cancer-causing chromosome fusion. This led to the discovery of the telomerase, an enzyme that maintains the length and integrity of chromosome ends and is critical for the health and survival of all living cells and organisms.

In her landmark paper published in 1991 with Richard Axel, Buck discovered hundreds of genes code for the odorant sensors located in the olfactory neurons of our noses. Each receptor is a protein that changes when an odor attaches to the receptor, causing an electrical signal to be sent to the brain. Differences between odorant sensors mean that certain odors cause a signal to be released from a certain receptor, enabling us to interpret varying signals from our receptors as specific scents.

In an effort to help maximize the utility of the zebrafish as a model organism, Hopkins and colleagues set out to develop a large-scale insertional mutagenesis method. Although large-scale chemical mutagenesis screens were getting underway in several zebrafish labs at the time, there were concerns in the community at the time that identifying the molecular lesions using positional cloning methods would be inefficient. Hopkins believed that insertional mutagenesis, which had been very successfully employed in invertebrate model organisms would provide a valuable alternative or adjunct to the chemical screens.for zebrafish development . Also earlier research on gene expression in the bacterial virus lambda and on mouse RNA tumor viruses; cancer prevention & early detection.

development of piezoelectric materials processed into fiber structures & biomimetic materials that provide bioactivity & promote tissue repair; holds 14 patents

* Bertozzi coined the term bioorthogonal chemistry for chemical reactions compatible with living systems * Allows researchers to chemically modify molecules within living systems * Won Nobel Prize in chemistry 2022 * Also worked on Click Chemistry, describing how synthetic chemistry could emulate the way nature constructs complex molecules, using efficient reactions to join together simple, non-toxic building blocks * While at Berkeley, discovered viruses can bind to sugars in the body.

* Goel examines the physics of life and the way nanomotors read and write information into DNA * Development of novel conceptual frameworks and theoretical models to describe molecular nanomachines: the dynamics, energy transduction, and coupling to their environment * Experimentally probe the single molecule dynamics of molecular machines that read/write DNA * Demonstrate precision control of nanomotors that read/write DNA * Develop nanoscale techniques to precision control nanomachines and harness them for nanomanufacturing.

one of the founders of modern biotechnology discoverer of Transgenic (now Genetically Modified) Plants; holds 18 patents