When I went to primary school (when dinosaurs roamed the earth), we would talk, talk, talk about the Ben Franklins of history, the great and usually male inventors. Where were my girls at?
They were busy inventing also. “Talking” over emails with Elaine Borrelli, Director of Programs for SWE and Allison Pedersen, Chair of SWE’s Outreach Committee from the Society Of Women Engineers (their comments are in bold), women and women engineers specifically have contributed to society and not merely in the areas (household, family rearing) that you might think.
“American culture has traditionally misled young girls to believe that women do not contribute to technology development or patent new inventions. They are portrayed as ‘consumers of technology’, rather than creators of technology.
It is important to note that SWE’s Achievement Award recognizes outstanding women who are practitioners, researchers, educators, and managers selected in consultation with nationally-prominent engineers, business executives and educators. They are women whose achievements wrote our technological history and formed the foundation for our technological future.
Less than 10 percent of American engineers are female, yet women have a deep history of creating some of the world’s most vital technologies. A woman inventor was responsible for saving thousands of lives by designing Kevlar®, a fiber five times stronger ounce for ounce than steel, that is best known for its use in bulletproof vests. . A woman was the first to engineer a carburetor and windshield wipers for cars, and in fact, it was even a woman who first devised a method of using punch cards to calculate Bernoulli numbers, which advanced the field of computer science.
Pioneers in the field include:
· Dr. Kristina Johnson contributed to optoelectronic processing systems and liquid crystal devices used in LCD flat screens.
· Shirley Schwartz developed a patented device that notifies a car’s driver when the engine oil should be changed.
· Inventor, Stephanie Louise Kwolek, was responsible for saving thousands of lives by designing Kevlar®, a fiber five times stronger ounce for ounce than steel, that is best known for its use in bulletproof vests.
· NASA astronaut Bonnie Dunbar helped to develop the ceramic tiles that enable space shuttles to survive re-entry.
· Randice-Lisa Altschul patented the world's first disposable cell phone in 1999.
· Bette Nesmith Graham, a secretary in Dallas and a single mother, used her own kitchen blender to create the first batch of Liquid Paper, used to cover up mistakes made on paper. She later sold her company for nearly $50 million dollars.
· Patsy Sherman, a 3M research chemist, helped develop the first stain repellent and soil release textile treatments which have grown into an entire family of products known as Scotchgard® protectors.”
Okay, the $50 million dollars sure got my attention. So what are the next steps for encouraging women to go into engineering? How about bringing a daughter, niece, friend to a SWE event?
“The Society of Women Engineers will hold an event called, “Wow! That’s Engineering!” in Riverside, CA. on November 10, 2007 where local girls can participate in exciting and interactive activities that make engineering applicable and fun, such as making their own lip-gloss to learn more about engineering. The event will also include a collegiate panel.
Young women can go to www.swe.org/wow for exact location and timing information for the Wow! That’s Engineering! event series.”
Comments (1)
A lovely piece of info!
Posted by Anderson | July 4, 2007 5:22 AM
Posted on July 4, 2007 05:22