Today’s Google Doodle honors Emmy Noether, a mathematician who made groundbreaking contributions to the fields of abstract algebra and theoretical physics.
Lindsay and I started this blog/podcast because we wanted to showcase the work of women in STEM (whatever fields that definition may or may not encompass). As we’re interviewing our wonderful and brilliant guests, let’s take a minute to remember the women overlooked in the history books.
Who are my idols?
The Women of ENIAC who programmed the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC). ENIAC was the first electronic general-purpose computer, was designed for the US Army in the 1940s to calculate artillery trajectories. Back then, men were interested in hardware, and programming was considered menial and “women’s work.” How times have changed…
Janet Vaughan was a British physiologist in the 1930s who studied blood diseases and transfusions. Her work in creating London’s national blood banks was crucial during WWII and years afterwards. Because she was a woman, her requests to experiment on mice was denied, and she ended up using pigeons in her research on vitamin B12. (As a hater of pigeons, I applaud!)
Then there’s Marie Curie, Rosalind Franklin, Jane Goodall, Ada Lovelace, Grace Hopper, Amelia Earhart, Sally Ride… The list goes on!
All that to say, thanks, ladies! It’s been an honor learning from you.
p. s. If you want to hear a really interesting story on the original women coders, check out NPR’s piece.