Women - Women's Innovations

Frances Gabe

💡 Inventor 🔍 Jewelry maker 🔍 Ceramist

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💡 Inventor 🔍 Jewelry maker 🔍 Ceramist

father was an architect & construction working which led to numerous job-related schools when she was growing up
attended 18 different elementary schools
worshiped father & accompanied him to job-sites often riding up scaffolding on his shoulders
graduated high school at 16 & was married at 17
after her divorce in 1967 decided she hated housework & found it inconvenient & time consuming which ultimately led to her designing the self-cleaning house
it took her 12 years to build her self-cleaning house
mother died when she was very young & she didn't get along with her stepmother, preferring to spend time with her father
completed six years of middle school and high school in two years
after her divorce changed her last name from Bateson to Gabe which was a combination of her maiden and married names: Grace, Arnholtz, Bateson and added the E
built a model of her 2-story home & travelled the country trying to sell her patents & get backing for building more homes, even charging for tours of her own home to raise money but was unsuccessful & her own home was the only self-cleaning house to be built
her family sold the home when they had to put her in a nursing home & the current owner has removed most of the self-cleaning features
January 31, 1984 the model of her home was donated to the Hagley Museum and Library
2005 Artist Lily Benson visited Gabe & subsequently made a short film released in 2015 documenting her patents & home
invented 68 separate devices to eliminate every part of the cleaning of the home including a cupboard that could clean dishes without needing to move them, and cabinets in which one could hang dirty clothes to be washed and dried that could later be pulled with chains into the closet
her house was about a thousand square feet and was completed in the 1980s at a cost of $15,000
she reportedly had contentious relationships with all her neighbors & was very difficult to get along with & often attributed to the cement mixer which was permanently in her front yard, her pack of snarling Great Danes or her penchant for doing her yard work in the nude during her younger days
after divorcing her husband she allowed him to continue living in a trailer on the property
was an accomplished jeweler and ceramist
lived on 7 overgrown acres 25 miles southwest of Portland OR
for dirty dishes she designed a cupboard in which dirty dishes were set on mesh shelves then washed and dried in situ
floors in the home were coated with multiple layers of marine varnish, furniture was encased in clear acrylic resin, bedclothes were kept dry by means of an awning pulled over the bed before the cascade of water began & books were encased in plastic covers
got the idea for her self-cleaning house after 1 of her children smeared fig jam on the wall of her house & she used a hose to wash it off
her patent patent contained 68 individual parts covering the home’s other labor-saving cleaning devices
she was unable to afford to maintain her patent & it expired in 2001
her family moved her (reportedly against her wishes & "kicking & screaming" according to 1 of her grandsons) to a nursing home in 2008
built the entire house by herself
her husband started a building repairs business which she ran for 35-45 years (times vary depending on the source consulted)
her patent is under the name Frances G. Bateson

Born: 1015

Country: USA

Education: Girls Polytechnic High School

Matilda Electa Joslyn Gage

🔍 Abolitionist ✍️ Author

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🔍 Abolitionist ✍️ Author

her son-in-law was L. Frank Baum
was the youngest speaker at the 1852 National Women's Rights Convention held in Syracuse, New York
objectives for the woman's National Liberal Union were to assert woman's natural right to self-government; to show the cause of delay in the recognition of her demand; to preserve the principles of civil and religious liberty; to arouse public opinion to the danger of a union of church and state through an amendment to the constitution, and to denounce the doctrine of woman's inferiority
loved doing historic research
faced prison for her actions associated with the Underground Railroad under the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, which criminalized assistance to escaped slaves
described herself as "born with a hatred of oppression." (Wikipedia)
was beset by financial and cardiac problems throughout her life
was president of the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) from 1875 to 1876 and served as either Chair of the Executive Committee or Vice President for over twenty years
was a delegate from the NWSA to the 1880 Republican National Convention, the 1880 Democratic National Convention and that of the Greenback Party
although deeply religious she was a vocal critic of the Christian Church seeing it as central to the process of men subjugating women & later in life became a Theosophist-a religion drawing heavily on Buddhism & Hinduism
advocated against ageism
opposed abortion on principle, blaming it on the 'selfish desire' of husbands to maintain their wealth by reducing their offspring
spent time among the Iroquois and received the name Karonienhawi – 'she who holds the sky' – upon her initiation into the Wolf Clan and was admitted into the Iroquois Council of Matrons
her slogan "There is a word sweeter than Mother, Home or Heaven. That word is Liberty." is engraved on a memorial to her in the Fayetteville Cemetery in Fayetteville NY
the Gage home in Fayetteville houses the Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation and is open to the public as a historic house museum
has been referred to as “the woman who was ahead of the women who were ahead of their time,” (womenshistory.org)
in addition to her public school education received lessons in anatomy and physiology from her father to prepare her for medical school but was denied admission to medical school because she was a woman
was the one suffragist who backed Susan B. Anthony when she was put on trial for voting in the 1872 presidential election
at the unveiling of the Statue of Liberty in 1886 she spoke out in protest about the hypocrisy of “liberty for all” when women did not have basic liberties
after male critics branded her as satanic and a heretic she became an expert on the subject of witch hunts
Susan B. Anthony credited her with "bringing more startling facts to light than any woman I know." (encyclopedia.com)
her speech, "The United States on Trial—Not Susan B. Anthony," argued that the central issue was not whether the government should grant women rights; rather that the government had denied women rights to which they, as citizens and human beings, were naturally entitled
1975 testified before Congress on behalf of women's rights
1880 became the first woman to vote in Fayetteville NY under a state law that passed permitting women to vote in school board elections

Born: 1826

Country: USA

Education: Clinton Liberal Institute

Pratibha Laxman Gai-Boyes

🔍 Microscopist 🔍 Materials Chemist

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🔍 Microscopist 🔍 Materials Chemist

is an outspoken advocate for women with careers in science
is a Dame
grew up in India
spent 18 years (1988-2007) in the US at chemical firm DuPont and the University of Delaware
her research has helped to understand better how catalysts function in gases and liquids
started out as a physicist but today counts herself as a chemist
she & her colleagues have been developing antibiotic nanoparticles to control infections in medical implants
has written/contributed to over 300 scientific articles & co-authored 9 books
hobbies include walking, music, cooking & writing
9 of her patents were developed while she was employed at DuPont

Born: 1948

Country: India or UK

Education: Indian Institute of Technology MSc 1970; University of Cambridge PhD Physics 1974

Ella Neilson Gaillard

💡 Inventor

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Love Rosa Hirschmann Gantt

⚕️ Medicine

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⚕️ Medicine

second woman physician in the United States to become board-certified
set up a private practice in 1905 in ophthalmology and otolaryngology
was president of the American Medical Women's Association
served on the South Carolina Board of Public Welfare for five years and was legislative chairman of the South Carolina Equal Suffrage League
during World War I organized Liberty Loan drives, served on a draft board, directed recreation at Camp Wadsworth, and was commissioned as a medical examiner for Air Force pilots
there is a historic marker about her located near the site of her medical office in Spartanburg's Morgan Square
was a pioneer in public health, prevention of tuberculosis, medical inspection of schools, and social hygiene
received appointments from five South Carolina governors and three U.S. presidents
1916 was instrumental in building the first synagogue in Spartanburg SC
in WWI organized five hundred women volunteers to work in medical and other services
1924 negotiated with Oakwood Cemetery for a Jewish section which made Jewish burials possible in Spartanburg for the first time
was resident physician at Winthrop College in Rock Hill, South Carolina for 1 year before she quit to marry & opened a private practice
was instrumental in establishing Spartanburg General Hospital, the first public hospital in the city
founded the Spartanburg chapter of the American Red Cross
established the state reformatory for girls
had a strong interest in Mendelian genetics
1915 spoke before the South Carolina House Judiciary Committee to garner support for the submission of a women’s suffrage amendment to the state constitution
believed in some eugenics principles
worked to decrease morbidity and mortality from pellagra

Born: 1874, 1875 or 1876 depending on source.

Country: USA

Education: Medical College of South Carolina MD 1901

Jessica "Jessie" Noel Garcia

💡 Inventor

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💡 Inventor

Tozuda means headstrong in Spanish & the name is a nod to her grandmother who used to call her tozuda growing up
she is a former rugby player
her mechanism detects force of impact and, when the impact is strong enough to potentially cause a concussion, releases a red dye into a clear chamber
received a grant from Protolabs, a well-known prototyping injection molding company, which enabled her to complete her design/manufacture her Head Impact Indicator
released her 1st Indicator in 2019 & an improved model in 2020
“If it’s red, check your head,” is her company motto
in her free time enjoys cooking primal foods, listening to podcasts, lifting, welding, and mountaineering
holds 3 patents

Born: Unknown

Country: USA

Education: Lehigh University BA global Studies, Entrepreneurship & Women's Studies 2012; Master of Engineering-Technical entrepreneurship 2013; Stanford University Latino Entrepreneurship Fellowship 2015

Diana Garcia-Prichard

🔬 Physical Chemistry

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Christina "Christy" Gardner

🔍 Para-athlete 🤖 Dog Trainer

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🔍 Para-athlete 🤖 Dog Trainer

an Army veteran (served 2005-07, military police) who lost both her legs while on duty
now is a certified dog trainer
member of the United States women's national ice sledge hockey team, she competed in the first-ever IPC Ice Sledge Hockey Women's International Cup in 2014
in high school participated in basketball, field hockey, soccer and track and field
participated in the US Paralympic Trials for the 2016 Rio Paralympics
2023 participated in the Women's Shot Put for F34/56/57 and the Women's Discus Throw for F56/57 taking 1st place in both events
helped the U.S. win gold at the 2023 Para Ice Hockey Women’s World Challenge in Green Bay, Wisconsin
is the only player who has played every position — forward, defense, and goalie — for U.S. women’s sled hockey
went from never having surfed to representing her country at the International Surfing Association World Para Surfing Championship in less than a year
helped start Maine’s only sled-hockey team, the New England Warriors
her initial ambitions in the Army were to serve as a combat photographer but women were not allowed to serve in combat roles so she entered the military police instead
as a result of her injuries is deaf in one ear
teaches classes about training dogs at the local state prison as well as stores like Home Depot or Lowe’s
she can’t reveal where she was injured overseas because it is classified

Born: 1982

Country: USA

Education: Long Island University BA Photography 2005; University of Southern Maine Therapeutic Recreation degree 2015; University of the Incarnate Word MA Organizational Leadership 2007

Joan Sullivan Garrett

⚕️ Nursing

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⚕️ Nursing

is a former critical care flight nurse
served as MedAire CEO until 2008 and today is chairman
is certified in advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) and pediatric advanced life support (PALS)founded MedAire after a rescue and evacuation mission in 1984 when she was unable to save the life of an 8-year-old boy
responded to a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 1985 with a design for a proper medical kit and trained crews in first aid response
2008 MedAire was acquired by International SOS
once implanted a pacemaker during an emergency
“a handshake is a hug” is her motto
author of numerous papers regarding medical and health subjects
her Congressional testimony in 2001 led the Federal Aviation Administration to require U.S. airlines to carry automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and enhanced medical kits (EMKs) on all domestic flights
is an avid gardener
loves horses

Born: 1949

Country: USA

Education: Mesa Community college AAS/RN 1979

Ina May Middleton Gaskin

🔍 Midwifery

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🔍 Midwifery

often referred to as "the mother of authentic midwifery"
helped found the self-sustaining community, The Farm, with her husband Stephen Gaskin in 1971 where she launched her career in midwifery
has written 5 books on midwifery and childbirth
after getting her BA she joined the Peace Corps & spent 2 years teaching English in Malaysia
forceps were used during her 1st birth in the 1960s & her second child was born prematurely in 1971 & died the next day; both events were traumatic & led her to search for alternative methods of birth & fueled her interest in midwifery
2003 was made a Visiting Fellow of Morse College, Yale University
has been featured in 5 films &/or documentaries about midwifery & childbirth
has attended more than 1,200 births
grandmother ran an orphanage
older brother died in a gun accident when he was fifteen

Born: 1940

Country: USA

Education: University of Iowa BA English Literature 1962; Northern Illinois University MA English 1967

Lisa Craig Gautier

🔍 Ecology

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Kimberley "Kim" Gavin

💼 Entrepreneur

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Timnit Gebru

💻 Computer Science

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Letticia Mumford Geer

⚕️ Nursing

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Hilda Geiringer

📊 Applied Mathmatics

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Lisa Gelobter

💻 Computer Science

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💻 Computer Science

2015 was the Chief Digital Service Officer for the United States Department of Education during President Barack Obama’s administration
raised more than $2 million for tEQuitable, becoming one of the only thirty-four Black women to ever raise $1 million or more in venture capital
has worked with Black Girls Code and the Kapor Center for Social Impact in efforts to address issues of racism and bias in the tech industry
often took breaks from school due to financial challenges and worked as a Teaching Assistant (TA) during school semesters
Shockwave transformed the internet and revolutionized the animation industry, with her invention largely influencing subsequent technologies, like Flash and HTML5
today’s streaming, gaming, social media, and other digital privileges would not exist without her contributions
it took her 24 years to graduate from college
is an outspoken advocate for both racial and gender diversity in the tech industry
no patents were located

Born: 1971

Country: USA

Education: Brown University BS Computer Science 2011 (while most sources list her graduation in 1991, she entered college in 1987 &, per interviews & quotes from her, it took her 24 years to complete her degree); also took classes at NYU Tish School of Arts & International Ombuds Association but was not awarded any degrees; some sources refer to her as Dr. Gelobter however no PhD either earned or bestowed on her was found

Artemisia Gentileschi

🎨 Art 🤖 Painting

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Eloise Gerry

🔬 Research Science 🔍 Botany

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🔬 Research Science 🔍 Botany

one of the 1st women in the US to specialize in forest product research
first woman appointed to the professional staff of the U.S. Forest Service at the Forest Products Laboratory (FPL)
began working for US Forest Service in 1910 as a research scientist
retired in 1954 after 44 years with the US Forest Service
she spent her time improving methods to produce military supplies for World Wars I and II, writing stories for children, publishing more than 120 articles in technical and trade journals, and as an avid home gardener and local kennel club member
always signed her full name, rather than using a single first initial, so that it was clear she was a woman
in college she specialized in the anatomy of wood and trees and their physiological responses
during WWII she shared in an investigation of Douglas-fir bark to determine whether it could be a source of cork, because traditional sources from North Africa and southern Europe were curtailed
was an international expert on properties of commercially used species of foreign woods
1933 she was the only woman of FPL's staff to participate in the first radio broadcast from the lab on a national hookup, a part of the National Farm and Home Hour
began raising Basenji's in 1942
was an Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin as well as a member of the Forest Products staff
initially hired as a microscopist her job was to catalog the anatomical features of wood species that were sent to the lab
1916 initiated her own research into saving the pine tree population of the American South
left the majority of her estate to Graduate Women in Science, an organization which provides funding/fellowships for women in science
she showed that the lumber industry was cutting down trees at an unsustainable rate and her research helped to preserve local ecosystems and stabilize the pine-related turpentine industry by enabling more productive and longer-lived trees

Born: 1885

Country: USA

Education: Radcliffe College BA Chemistry 1908 & MA 1909; University of Wisconsin-Madison PhD Botany & Plant Pathology 1921

Yasaman Ghasempour

💻 Computer Engineer 📚 Educator

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💻 Computer Engineer 📚 Educator

started as an Assistant Professor at Princeton Spring 2021
is featured in the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of Natural History as a change-making innovator in wireless technology
she & her group are currently researching how to upgrade AgriTera so that large quantities of fruit, like those that stream down conveyer belts at large distribution centers, can be analyzed simultaneously
she & her group hope future cell phone upgrades will enable a mobile version of AgriTera could benefit people with diabetes and other dietary restrictions by allowing consumers to see the exact sugar content of produce and decide in real time what best meets their needs just by taking a photo of the fruit/vegetable in question using their cell phones
holds 5 patents

Born: Unknown

Country: Iran

Education: Sharif University of Technology BSc Electrical Engineering 2014; Rice University MS 2016 & PhD 2020 both in Electrical & Computer Engineering

Andrea Mia Ghez

⚛️ Astrophysics

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⚛️ Astrophysics

her father was on the faculty of the University of Chicago & she was allowed to attend the Laboratory School there
the Apollo program Moon landings inspired her to aspire to be the first female astronaut and her mother encouraged that goal by purchasing a telescope
her most influential female role model was her high school chemistry teacher
is an active swimmer in the UCLA Masters Swim Club
heads UCLA’s Galactic Center Group
her group is currently focused on using this approach to understand the physics of gravity near a black hole and the role that black holes plays in the formation and evolution of galaxies
on the faculty at UCLA since 1994
for 25 years has focused almost exclusively on Sagittarius A
—a supermassive black hole
began her career in astronomy studying young binary stars using the technique of infrared speckle imaging, which removes the blurring Earth’s atmosphere imposes on astronomical images by taking many pictures with very short exposure times and adding them together
only the fourth woman to win a Nobel in physics
born in New York city, she grew up in Chicago, the eldest of three sisters
studies the kinematics, or interactions between stars, in order to characterize the extremely dynamic region at the galaxy’s center

Born: 1965

Country: USA

Education: MIT BS Physics 1987; California Institute of Technology PhD Physics 1992

Catherine L. Gibbon

⚛️ Engineer

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Lois Marie Conn Gibbs

✊ Environmental Activist

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✊ Environmental Activist

did not have many hobbies and activities as a child & her favorite pastime was sewing
activism began in 1978 when she discovered her 5-year-old-son's school was built on a toxic waste dump site in Niagara Falls New York & he had epilepsy , urinary tract, and respiratory problems
when she began protesting the inaction of the NYS Health Department even her own mother believed she wouldn't succeed & told her “you’re forgetting you’re just a housewife with a high school education."
President Jimmy Carter mentioned Gibbs as the key grassroots leader in the Love Canal movement during 1980
her efforts led to the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, or Superfund, which is used to locate and clean up toxic waste sites throughout the United States
1981, as a single mother of two children, she left Niagara Falls with $10,000 and relocated to the Washington, D.C. area
is now known as the "mother of Superfund"
in 1980 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its study showing that residents exhibited chromosomal damage and angry Love Canal residents took two EPA representatives hostage
was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003
CHEJ is responsible for a number of successful campaigns, including the McToxics Campaign of 1987 that put an end to fast food restaurants’ use of Styrofoam packaging, the Stop Dioxin Campaign of 1995 that reduced dioxin emissions by 90%, and the PVC Campaign of 2004 that exposed to the public the health hazards of PVC (polyvinyl chloride) and convinced businesses such as Microsoft to use safer materials in their packaging and products

Born: 1951

Country: USA

Education: high school diploma

Lillian Evelyn Moller Gilbreth

⚛️ Industrial Engineering 🔍 Psychology

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⚛️ Industrial Engineering 🔍 Psychology

Efficiency expert; with husband, Frank, conducted time/motion studies
Known for adding shelves to refrigerators, adding a foot pedal to kitchen trash cans, & designing kitchens for people with disabilities
1st female appointed a professor of management at Purdue University
Had 12 children; book & movie, "Cheaper by the Dozen" is based on her family
She & Frank divided workers' hand movements into 17 different units they called therbligs
1st female to join the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (1926)
Was taught at home by her parents & tutors until entering public school at age 9
1st female to speak at a University of California commencement
1st female recipient of the Hoover Medal. In the late 1920s, Lillian Gilbreth enlisted her children — she had 11— in an experiment: bake a strawberry shortcake in record time. Kitchens at the time tended to have haphazard configurations—pots and pans could be at one end of the kitchen, the stove in another, and the utensils in another room altogether—but Lillian figured that with a well-designed kitchen, she could slash baking time dramatically and make cooks’ lives easier. And if anyone was going to hack the kitchen, Lillian Gilbreth was the woman for the job. Lillian and her late husband, Frank, were absolute fiends for efficiency. They’d used the study of “time and motion” to dissect the activities of factory and office workers, and had made a business of optimizing efficiency in the workplace. Now widowed, Lillian Gilbreth, was set to tackle efficiency in the home when their clients would continue working with her and the business failed. Her innovations—she’s widely credited with inventing the pedal trash can and refrigerator door shelves—live with us to this da

Born: 1878

Country: USA

Education: UC Berkeley BA English 1900 & MA Literature 1902; Columbia University; Brown University PhD Applied Psychology 1915

Shanya Gill

💡 Inventor

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💡 Inventor

was 12-years-0ld when she invented her device
has said her goal in creating her device was to design an early warning system that is superior to a standard smoke detector & while smoke detectors sense active fires as smoke begins to rise her system is designed to stop unwanted fires from starting
was inspired to improve fire safety after a restaurant behind her home burned down in the summer of 2022
interests include sports, crafting, coding, and teaching younger kids
hopes to become a biomedical engineer
her system involves connecting an affordable thermal camera to a compact computer (Raspberry Pi retail costs start at about $35) which is then programmed to differentiate between people–which were identified as warm objects moving horizontally–and heat sources, such as an active gas burner, which were identified as hot objects that remained stationary; she then programmed the system to send a text message when it detected a heat source but no human presence for a continuous 10-minute period
testing showed her system accurately detected human presence 98% of the time and heat sources 97% of the time
has put her code up on GitHub, which is open source, so people can make suggestions on how to improve the program, which still has some bugs
has decided not to patent her invention so it is available to all
is working with the U.S. Fire Administration to perfect her device
used to struggle with insecurities tied to her body image, and was called names because of her size but has developed a healthier self-image, and working on the project has helped her build confidence
once her device comes to market she plans to donate a portion of the profits to charities and organizations that help victims of fires
wants to refine her device by combining it with a smartphone app that will allow users to quickly switch over to a camera after receiving a text message so they can see if the alert is correct, as well as a higher resolution sensor, incorporating smarter algorithms, and designing the product for mass production

Born: 2011

Country: India

Education: current a student

Elizabeth Duane Gillespie

🔍 Philanthropy

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Jane E. Gilman

💡 Inventor

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Gloria Ford Gilmer

📊 Mathematics 📊 Ethnomathematics

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Anna Estelle Glancy

🔭 Astronomy 🔍 Optics

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🔭 Astronomy 🔍 Optics

was born & died in Waltham Massachusetts
her patents are filed under the name A. E. Glancy
received thirteen patents for her innovations during the period from 1929-1945
worked at an observatory in Argentina for 4 or 5 years (time varies with different sources) because she couldn't find work as a female astronomer in the U.S.
as of 1950 was still the only woman lens designer in the world
experts in the field of television drew on her research in creating larger screens
was discouraged of ever finding a job in astronomy in the U.S.& considered taking a job in an airplane factory
her work on tracking the comet Morehouse inspired the 2012 film 1908 c
is known as the first lady of optics
a record of her observer’s notebooks and instrument logbooks are archived at the Lick Observatory
is considered the first woman to do her own research at Lick Observatory
her groundbreaking achievement was a series of glass-plate photographs she made from Mt. Hamilton of comet Morehouse (but they were attributed to a male colleague) in 1908 using the Crocker telescope
in retirement she cited her progressive deafness as a factor in her success
held 17 patents

Born: 1883

Country: USA

Education: Wellesley College BA Astronomy & Mathematics 1905; UC Berkeley PhD Astronomy 1913

Susan "Susie" Keating Glaspell

🔍 Novelist 🔍 Playwright ✍️ Journalist 🔍 Actress

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🔍 Novelist 🔍 Playwright ✍️ Journalist 🔍 Actress

her writings were often set in her native Midwest and were often semi-autobiographical tales which typically explore contemporary social issues, such as gender, ethics, and dissent, while featuring deep, sympathetic characters who make principled stands
during the Great Depression she worked in Chicago for the Works Progress Administration, where she was Midwest Bureau Director of the Federal Theater Project
her one-act play Trifles (1916) is frequently cited as one of the greatest works of American theatre
as a child was considered "precocious" and would often rescue stray animals
by age 18 was earning a regular salary as a journalist for a local newspaper
became a leading member of Heterodoxy, an early feminist debating group composed of the premier women's rights crusaders
1922 moved to Greece with her husband but returned to the U.S. after his death in 1924
has been called "the First Lady of American Drama" and "the Mother of American Drama"
2003 the International Susan Glaspell Society was founded
did graduate work in English at the University of Chicago
wrote eleven of the one hundred plays produced by the Provincetown Players during its seven-year existence
1910, along with Cook, she led the fight against censorship in Davenport when the library board refused to buy a book titled The Finality of the Christian Religion
her last years were filled with illness and alcoholism
was greatly influenced by the writings of Black Hawk, the Sauk American Indian chief, on whose former land she was raised
at Drake University excelled as a debater, representing the school at the state debates her senior year

Born: 1876

Country: USA

Education: Drake University Ph.B. Philosophy 1899; took 2 graduate classes in Literature at the University of Chicago

Catherine "Kate" Anselm Gleason

⚛️ Mechanical Engineering 💼 Businesswoman

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⚛️ Mechanical Engineering 💼 Businesswoman

1st female member of ASME
Was Manager of Gleason Works in Rochester, NY
Kate Gleason College of Engineering at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) was named in tribute to her
Began helping her father in his gear factory after the death of her stepbrother Tom when she was 11 years old
1884, 1st female at Cornell Mechanical Arts Program; was unable to complete her studies because she had to help out at the family business
Became a travelling salesperson for the family business, touring Europe in 1893 to expand the business; 1900 represented the business at the Paris World Fair
Left the family business in 1913
1st female named a receiver by the Bankruptcy Court to take over Ingle Machine Company in 1914; restored the company to financial security & paid off all it's debts by the end of 1915
1918, appointed president of First National Bank of East Rochester; Helped launch 8 companies
Experimented building fireproof houses out of concrete & sold them for under $4,000
Was known for her philanthropy
Never married; viewed marriage as a hindrance to her professional life
1st female member of Verein Deutschen Ingenieure
1st female member of the American Concrete Institute
Held 1 patent

Born: 1865

Country: USA

Education: Cornell University; Rochester Institute of Technology; no degree, little formal training as an engineer; primarily learned by working in her father s gear company from age 14

Anita Goel

⚛️ Biophysics

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⚛️ Biophysics

has over 80 patents worldwide (10 located)
has testified in the US Senate for the $1.5 Billion dollar National Nanotechnology Initiative
advised President Obama's PCAST for his Strategy for American Innovation
served on the Triennial Review Board of the National Academy of Sciences
is piloting a global initiative to build innovative public-private partnerships with academic, commercial, global thought leaders and NGO’s, to collectively harness innovations at this convergence to sustainably address some of the world’s most pressing needs in healthcare, energy, and the environment
Gene-RADAR is a machine that identifies DNA and RNA signatures, essentially “molecular fingerprints,” and lets the user know what illness or disease the patient has by sorting through a database and finding the conditions that correspond to that fingerprint information
Gene-RADAR has potential biodefense applications such as providing onsite detection of hazardous chemicals in bioterrorist attacks and similar devices could also be used to test water sources, crops, organs for transplant, and air quality

Born: 1973

Country: USA

Education: Stanford University BS Physics 1995; Harvard University PhD 2002 Physics; MIT-Harvard Joint Division of Health Sciences & Technology MD 2005

Eugenia Almira Wheeler Goff

🎨 Cartography 🔍 Historian 📚 Educator

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Adele Goldberg

💻 Computer Science

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💻 Computer Science

was the only woman in the group that built Smalltalk-80, one of the most popular and influential early programming languages
presented Smalltalk to Steve Jobs, who implemented many of these concepts into Apple’s first products
many modern Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) have design standards that trace directly back to Goldberg’s original work
enjoyed problem solving and mathematics from a young age
most of her work at PARC is the foundation for today's graphically based user interfaces, which replace earlier command line base systems
continues to pursue her interest in education, formulating computer science courses at community colleges in the United States and abroad
The Computer History Museum (CHM) houses a collection of Goldberg's working documents, reports, publications and videotapes related to her work on the development of Smalltalk
is sometimes called the 'godmother of GUI'
has a twin sister
joined Xerox PARC in 1973 & left 1988
has 4 patents pending worldwide

Born: 1945

Country: USA

Education: University of Michigan BA Mathematics 1967; University of Chicago MA 1969 & PhD 1973 both in Information Science

Thelma Golden

🎨 Art Curator

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🎨 Art Curator

from 2017 to 2020, ArtReview chose her annually as one of the 10 most influential people in the contemporary art world
is the Director and Chief Curator of The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York City
1991 to 1998 was a curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art
was influenced by H. W. Janson's "History of Art"
was an apprentice at the Metropolitan Museum of Art while still in high school
her after-school activities included piano lessons, ice-skating, & gymnastics
started going to museums on her own when she was fifteen
her father often clipped stories about notable Black people for his son & daughter to read
the staff offices of the Studio Museum were on the second floor of the long building, and to save time when visiting her curators she navigated the corridors on a bicycle
Marcus Samuelsson has made her a partner in his Hav & Mar restaurant

Born: 1965

Country: USA

Education: Smith College BA Art History & African-American Studies 1987

Claudia Dale Goldin

💰 Economics 📚 Educator

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💰 Economics 📚 Educator

is a co-director (co-directing with Claudia Olivetti and Jessica Goldberg) of the National Bureau of Economic Research's (NBER) Gender in the Economy study group
was the director of the NBER's Development of the American Economy program from 1989 to 2017
1990 became the first woman to be tenured in Harvard's economics department
was determined to become an archaeologist until she read Paul de Kruif's "Microbe Hunters" (1926) in middle school & was drawn to bacteriology
in her sophomore year of college she took an economics class with Alfred Kahn & switched her major to economics
was an editor of the Journal of Economic History, from 1984 to 1988
for 28 years ending in 2017 was the director of the Development of the American Economy (DAE) Program at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
is the 3rd female to win the Nobel in Economics & the only woman to have been the sole winner of the prize
one of the central findings of her research is that differences in pay and labor force participation are due not to biological differences but to differences in the division of unpaid caregiving responsibilities between heterosexual couples
other influential work of hers focuses on the history of women’s participation in higher education, including the reasons why women now comprise the majority of university undergraduate enrollment numbers; the impact of the contraceptive pill on women’s marriage and career decisions; the social indicator of women’s surnames after marriage; and the life cycle of women’s employment

Born: 1946

Country: USA

Education: Cornell University BA Economics 1967; University of Chicago MA Economics 1969 & PhD 1972 Industrial Organization & Labor Economics

Hetty Goldman

🔍 Archaeology

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🔍 Archaeology

first woman faculty member at the Institute for Advanced Study
one of the first female archaeologists to undertake excavations in Greece and the Middle East
was a member of the Goldman–Sachs banking family
was the first woman to hold the Charles Eliot Norton Fellowship from Harvard in order to study at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens
maternal grandfather was Rabbi of Temple Emanu-El in New York
paternal grandfather founded the investment bank Goldman Sachs
she & her three siblings attended the Sachs School for Boys and Girls, founded by their uncle Julius Sachs
during The Balkan Wars (1912–13) she volunteered as a nurse in the Red Cross in Greece
fall of 1918, she represented the Joint Distribution Committee for the Relief of Jewish War Sufferers in Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Romania
completed in 1927, Eutresis was the only of Goldman’s major excavations not to be interrupted by a war
her chronology of Tarsus has served as a guide for archaeologists trying to link prehistoric sites in Egypt with the West and for those trying to establish linkages between the Euphrates basin and Anatolia
her focus was on cross-cultural influences and the lives of common people
she was adamant that the artifacts found during her excavations were to remain in museums of the area & not shipped to foreign museums
she donated her library, much of it inherited from Julius Sachs, to the Institute’s (Institute for Advanced Study) Historical Studies–Social Science Library, where it formed the core of its archaeological collection
her publications illuminated the continuity of culture within the Mediterranean between the Semitic and the Greek cultures
wanted to be an author after college but switched to archaeology when she decided she "had nothing to say"
among the relics uncovered under her direction were terra cotta theatrical masks, figurines of gods, and temple rituals and victorious charioteers, lamps used in sanctuaries, clay‐lined ovens from an ancient factory, a Hellenistic house with a bath room and a crystal statuette dated not later than the first millennium before Christ

Born: 1881

Country: USA

Education: Bryn Mawr college BA English & Greek 1903; Columbia University MA Classical Languages & Archaeology 1910; Radcliffe College PhD Archaeology 1916

Cassidy L. Goldstein

💡 Inventor

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Chelsea Goldstein

🔍 Unknown

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Adele Katz Goldstine

📊 Mathematics 💻 Computer Science

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Shafrira "Shafi" Goldwasser

💻 Computer Science 🔍 Cryptography

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💻 Computer Science 🔍 Cryptography

is the RSA Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1997) after joining the faculty in 1983; a professor of mathematical sciences at the Weizmann Institute of Science concurrent with her work at MIT since 1993; 2018-2024 the director of the Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing at the University of California, Berkeley
holds dual citizenship in the US & Israel
has become a fan and practitioner of “Playback Theater”, an improvisational interactive group experience
moved to Israel with her family when she was approximately 6 & returned to the US for college in 1979
holds dual Israeli & american citizenship

Born: 1958 or 1959 (depending on source used)

Country: USA

Education: Carnegie-Mellon University BS Applied mathematics 1979; UC Berkeley MS 1981 & PhD 1984 both in Computer Science