Women in Technology
THE TIMELINE
“Girls are capable of doing everything men are capable of doing. Sometimes they have more imagination than men”
— Katherine Johnson, NASA Mathematician
Nowadays, all of us grow up hearing we can be anything and do anything we feel like. Today, girls and boys both are largely interested in STEM (science technology engineering mathematics). To succeed and feel motivated, we should be aware of all the contributions done by influential females in the past. There are some marvelous inventions by women who are of great inspiration to all of us. Let’s take a look at some of these spectacular inventions:
1843 COMPUTER ALGORITHM - LADY ADA LOVELACE
Lady Ada Lovelace is regarded as the first-ever computer programmer. She had created the world’s first machine algorithm for early computing. This algorithm is known as Bernoulli Code.
Lovelace was known as the “enchantress of numbers”. Charles Babbage was amazed by Lovelace’s knowledge about Mathematics. Together they worked on Analytical Machines. She enhanced the value of the Analytical Machine by adding her notes to it. While analyzing notes of the Analytical Engine she realized could carry out a comprehensive sequence of mathematical operations. She started to note such series and sequences and calculated the “Bernoulli Numbers”. Lady Ada Lovelace summarized that Analytical Engine was performing actions on more than just numbers, it could process music.
Lady Ada Lovelace was a brilliant mathematician and her work was outstanding. In the eyes of the world, she is a visionary.
1942 WIRELESS TRANSMISSION TECHNOLOGY - HEDY LAMARR
We all have heard the phrase — “Beauty with Brains”. Hedy Lamarr has put that phrase to life. Hedy Lamarr was a renowned Hollywood star who was considered the most beautiful of her times.
She created the Frequency Hopping System, which later became the fundamental principle of Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth Communications.
In 1940, Hedy Lamarr heard about the navy’s issues in handling radio-controlled torpedoes. Lamarr wanted to do something to help the navy during WW2. Hedy’s vision was to create a system that constantly changed frequencies, making it difficult for the Axis powers to decode the radio messages. She recruited a pianist named George Antheil, a pioneer in the field of mechanized music. Lamarr was the brains behind the invention, with her background knowledge in ammunition, and Antheil was the artist that brought it to life, using the piano for inspiration. This new communication system was called “Hopping Frequencies”.
Although her creation was awarded a patent in 1942, she was honored two decades later. This was because of 2 reasons- Firstly, the navy and the government couldn’t get a fair idea of wireless communications; Secondly, people thought she was too gorgeous to get a brilliant idea like that.
Hedy Lamarr was a genius. It’s well said that was 20 years ahead of her time. The world is grateful for her invention.
1946 ENIAC - Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer
In 1946, six young intelligent women namely — Kay McNulty, Betty Jennings, Betty Snyder, Marlyn Meltzer, Fran Bilas, and Ruth Lichterman came together to create the first all-electronic programmable computer.
Initially, these ladies were referred to as “Human Computers” to calculate thousands of equations. They were later given the task to put together ENIAC because they were the most mathematically advanced group. With time these ladies were called — “Machine Operators”.
Operating ENIAC was difficult in itself. The “Machine Operators” had to learn ENIAC operations in 6 months. After which, they had to constantly debug errors, crawl into the machine to find burnouts or vacuums. They had also manually programmed the first electric computer.
These ladies are of great inspiration. They lead an example of sheer hard work in today’s world.
1952 WRITTEN COMPILER - Grace Hopper
The evolution of technology is incomplete without the contribution of Grace Hopper. She was a pioneer in the field of programming, mathematics and a US Navy Reserve officer.
Grace Hopper realized that programming would be more convenient if people could code in their language. She visualized a scenario where we could interact with the computer and in return, the computer could give us desirable output in understandable language. In 1952, she succeeded in making the first compiler.
She later co-invented the COBOL computer language, the first universal programming language used in business and government.
Grace Hopper’s invention left the world in awe. She was recognized and was awarded the rank of Rear Admiral. She was rightly called “Amazing Grace”. Her innovation encourages our generation to take all chances and achieve what we dream of.
1969 The Original Search Engine: Elizabeth Feinler
Ever wondered which search engine was used before Google, Firefox, Opera?
It was — ARPANET (The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network)
Thanks to Elizabeth “Jake” Feinler and her group, who created the first search and created a range of endless opportunities for today’s world.
The pages of the Internet were yellow and white server pages. The server stored the information name and address (WHOIS) server. She also came up with great domain naming schemes .com, .edu, .gov, .mil, .org, and .net, which are still commonly used even today.
She was appointed as the delegate of the White House and has been the founding member of the Internet Engineering Task Force.
1971 WORD PROCESSOR — REDACTRON - Evelyn Berezin
Word processor is defined as a computer program used to write and revise documents, compose the layout of the text, and preview on a computer monitor. Sounds like Google Docs or Microsoft Word?
This was invented more than 50 years ago by Evelyn Berezin.
Evelyn Berezin was a specialist in data science and logic design. She has designed the first computer word processor and computer reservation system for an airline company.
In 1969, Berezin founded Redactron, with the help of three colleagues. Together they devised the first computerized word processor. Word processor was one of the first devices to contain a microprocessor. In 1971 the word processor had advanced features that included the ability to record and playback what users had typed, so it could be edited or reprinted, Users also could delete or cut and paste the text.
Her development has made a remarkable impact on the World. She was recognized by induction into the Women in Technology International (WITI) Hall of Fame. In 2015, she was made a Fellow of the Computer History Museum.
Each of these females has led to the advancement in the technological world. One should always remember the roots from where it all started. All these innovationists are great visionaries and were way ahead of their time. We should know that hunger for knowledge and the determination to create new things will lead to new inventions. Lastly, I would end by saying technology is a “medium where imagination leads to the creation of reality”, so we should never stop imagining things.
