Mamata Pandya
In this issue we get to know about a Hollywood actor, known for her beauty, who also had a lifelong passion for invention and often spent her evenings working at her drafting table and studying research texts.
Category: Against All Odds
Ada Lovelace: STEM pioneer
Mamata Pandya
“Charles Babbage is the father of the computer”, this is one of the first things that children are taught when the subject is introduced in school. While Babbage conceived the Analytical Engine, it was the notes, explaining the workings of the machine, by another mathematical genius that inspired Alan Turing to work on the first modern computer. This genius was one of the pioneers of computer science and she was a woman: Ada Lovelace.
A. Lalitha: Engineering woman power
Mamata Pandya
About a century ago, how would it have been for a woman, in India, to pursue engineering? Were families and colleges open, accepting and supportive? If a woman became an engineer what were the places she could professionally associate with?
Angela Ruiz Robles: e-book pioneer
Mamata Pandya
Print is making way for electronic devices and we are now reading e-books instead of books. Michael Hart is credited with the invention of the e-book, but did you know that the original pioneer of the idea was a woman? Angela Ruiz Robles, a Spanish teacher and inventor, designed the Mechanical Encyclopedia, a precursor to the e-book.
Janaki Ammal: Magnolia Lady
Mamata Pandya
Magnolia kobus Janaki Ammal. If women scientists are a rare species, what is rarer is to have inventions named after them. In the 19th century, Janaki Ammal was a woman much ahead of her time. Her work as a botanist both in India and outside is truly inspiring.
Maria Mitchell: Stargazer to trailblazer
Mamata Pandya
A woman who has a comet named after her! A woman deeply involved in the movement for woman’s right to vote, own property and receive the same time of education and opportunities offered to men. Know more about Maria Mitchell born in the year 1818.
Bridge-building women
Mamata Pandya
Do we associate women with bridges? Well, more than 2 centuries ago a woman, in Europe, made plans and design for bridges! Another woman, an Indian, in the 20th century, made a name for herself in bridges. Both of them also secured patents for their innovative work. Let us know more about them.
Wangari Maathai: Mother of trees
Mamata Pandya
In a month when we celebrate the forests in India, let us take some time to learn about the woman responsible for a green revolution in Africa.
Mamitu Gashe: Frontline warrior surgeon
Mamata Pandya
An illiterate young African woman who went on to become a world renowned obstetric fistula surgeon, this month we present you Mamitu Gashe, who still can’t read and write but can perform complex obstetric fistula surgeries.
Anna Mani: Weather Woman
Mamata Pandya
Is it hard to believe that women in science were the torchbearers for many incredible things that happened in our country? In the story of Anna Mani, also known as the Weather Woman, there is brilliance, grit, passion and ambition. Anna Mani spearheaded India’s efforts to manufacture its own weather observation equipment, such as barometers and wind gauges, bringing down their cost but ensuring their reliability and precision. Anna Mani is inspirational in that her quest for knowledge and zeal for discovery needs to be emulated.