Thank you for visiting us at our booth or joining us for our panel session about becoming a technical leader at WE ’23!

We are happy to introduce you to the women pioneers in STEM pictured on our tote bag! 🙂

Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace (née Byron; 10 December 1815 – 27 November 1852)

Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace (née Byron; 10 December 1815 – 27 November 1852) was an English mathematician and writer, chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage’s proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine. She was the first to recognize that the machine had applications beyond pure calculation.

Learn more about Ada Lovelace here.

Maria Salomea Skłodowska-Curie  (née Skłodowska; 7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934)

Maria Salomea Skłodowska-Curie (née Skłodowska; 7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934), known simply as Marie Curie, was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person to win a Nobel Prize twice, and the only person to win a Nobel Prize in two scientific fields.

Learn more about Marie Curie here.

Edith Clarke (February 10, 1883 – October 29, 1959)

Edith Clarke (February 10, 1883 – October 29, 1959) was the first woman to be professionally employed as an electrical engineer in the United States,[1] and the first female professor of electrical engineering in the country.[2] She was the first woman to deliver a paper at the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, the first female engineer whose professional standing was recognized by Tau Beta Pi, and the first woman named as a Fellow of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers.

Learn more about Edith Clarke here.

Esther Pak (born Kim Jeom-dong; March 16, 1876 or 1877 — April 13, 1910)

Esther Pak (born Kim Jeom-dong; March 16, 1876 or 1877 — April 13, 1910) was a Korean physician; she was the first Korean woman to practice Western medicine in the country.[1]

In 1900, Park graduated from the Women’s Medical College of Baltimore, as the first Korean woman to earn a medical degree in the United States.[10]

Learn more about Esther Pak here.

Ayyalasomayajula Lalitha (A Lalitha) (27 August 1919 – 12 October 1979)

Ayyalasomayajula Lalitha MIEE (A Lalitha) (27 August 1919 – 12 October 1979) was India’s first female engineer.[1]

Ayyalasomayajula Lalitha was born in a Telugu-speaking family in Madras (now Chennai). She graduated in 1943 with a degree in electrical engineering – becoming India’s first woman engineer.[5]

Learn more about Ayyalasomayajula Lalitha here.

Ynés Enriquetta Julietta Mexía (May 24, 1870 – July 12, 1938)

Ynés Enriquetta Julietta Mexía (May 24, 1870 – July 12, 1938) was a Mexican-American botanist notable for her extensive collection of novel specimens of flora and plants originating from sites in Colombia, Mexico, and Peru. She discovered a new genus of Asteraceae, known after her as Mexianthus, and accumulated over 150,000 specimens for botanical study[1] over the course of a career spanning 16 years enduring challenges in the field that included poisonous berries, dangerous terrain, bogs and earthquakes for the sake of her research.[2]

Learn more about Ynés Mexía here.

Azar Andami (8 December 1926 – 19 August 1984)
Azar Andami was an Iranian physician and bacteriologist noted for her development of a cholera vaccine.
Learn more about Azar Andami here.
Mary Jackson (née Winston; April 9, 1921 – February 11, 2005)
Mary Jackson (née Winston; April 9, 1921 – February 11, 2005) was an American mathematician and aerospace engineer at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), which in 1958 was succeeded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). She worked at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, for most of her career. She started as a computer at the segregated West Area Computing division in 1951. In 1958, after taking engineering classes, she became NASA’s first black female engineer.Learn more about Mary Jackson here.

Helen Rodríguez Trías (July 7, 1929 – December 27, 2001)
Helen Rodríguez Trías (July 7, 1929 – December 27, 2001) was an American pediatrician, educator and women’s rights activist. She was the first Latina president of the American Public Health Association (APHA), a founding member of the Women’s Caucus of the APHA, and a recipient of the Presidential Citizens Medal. She is credited with helping to expand the range of public health services for women and children in minority and low-income populations around the world.
Learn more about Helen Rodríguez Trías here.
Creola Katherine Johnson (née Coleman; August 26, 1918 – February 24, 2020)

Creola Katherine Johnson (née Coleman; August 26, 1918 – February 24, 2020) was an American mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first and subsequent U.S. crewed spaceflights.[1][2] During her 33-year career at NASA and its predecessor, she earned a reputation for mastering complex manual calculations and helped pioneer the use of computers to perform the tasks. The space agency noted her “historical role as one of the first African-American women to work as a NASA scientist”.[3]

Learn more about Katherine Johnson here.