Five Amazing Women in S.T.E.M.

Did you know that less than 25% of women work in S.T.E.M. fields? Many women are lead to believe from a young age that they cannot pursue a career in S.T.E.M. but that could not be further from the truth! Here are five examples of inspiring women in S.T.E.M. who have helped change the world through their great contributions in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and/or mathematics:

 

Katherine Johnson

 

 

 

Katherine Johnson is a physicist, mathematician, and space scientist. Without her calculations, many of NASA’s space missions would not have been possible. She was also one of the first African American women to work with NASA as a scientist! Today, Katherine is 101 years old and continues to be an inspiration to many young African American girls who want to go into space science.

 

Cynthia Breazeal

 

 

 

Cynthia Breazeal is an engineer whose research forever changed the fields of robotics and artificial intelligence. She developed a humanoid robot capable of incredibly lifelike interactions with people. She is currently the Director of the Personal Robots Group at MIT’s Media Lab!

 

Mayim Bialik

 

 

 

 

Actress Mayim Bialik doesn’t just play a neuroscientist on TV, she is one! Mayim has a Ph.D. in neuroscience from UCLA and has contributed significantly to the field as both a teacher and an author. She’s even written a book for parents about the science of hormones. To this day, Mayim continues to teach children about science, encouraging future generations of women in S.T.E.M.!

 

Mileva Marić Einstein

 

 

 

The name Einstein may be familiar, but many people only recognize Albert Einstein and not his wife, Mileva Einstein, who was also an exceptionally intelligent scientist! Mileva was a huge contributor to many of her husband’s scientific discoveries, though she was seldom given credit. In fact, many people believe that she secretly co-wrote Albert Einstein’s groundbreaking 905 Relativity Paper.

 

Radia Perlman

 

 

 

Without Radia Perman’s research, you wouldn’t be reading this blog right now! As an early computer scientist, she is often regarded as the “Mother of the Internet.” The algorithm she developed is what made today’s Internet possible. She is also a textbook author and developed a child-friendly programming language.

Which of these amazing women do you find most inspiring?