Results for: pioneers in tech

Pioneers in Tech: Barbara Liskov and the CLU programming language

Pioneers in Tech: Barbara Liskov and the CLU programming language

After earning a bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1961 from the University of California, Berkeley, Barbara Liskov applied to graduate school at Princeton University. In response to her application, Liskov received a form letter informing her the school didn’t accept...

/ August 13, 2021
Pioneers in Tech: Margaret Hamilton’s moonshot

Pioneers in Tech: Margaret Hamilton’s moonshot

NASA estimates 400,000 individuals contributed to Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s ability to land on the moon on July 20, 1969. One of them was Margaret Hamilton, a 32-year-old software engineer working at MIT. Hamilton developed the software system that...

/ July 9, 2021
Pioneers in Tech: Remembering the life of Alan Turing

Pioneers in Tech: Remembering the life of Alan Turing

The life of Alan Turing —the man who broke the Nazi Enigma code in World War II, providing the intelligence that led the Allies to victory—is one of many wrenching stories to be remembered during Pride Month, the annual remembrance...

/ June 11, 2021
Pioneers in Tech: Mary Allen Wilkes, first to WFH with a computer

Pioneers in Tech: Mary Allen Wilkes, first to WFH with a computer

Remote work has long been common in the tech industry, even pre-coronavirus, but it had to start somewhere. After all, you couldn’t exactly squeeze an ENIAC in the spare bedroom. That’s why the story of Mary Allen Wilkes remains relevant...

/ May 14, 2021
Pioneers in Tech: Elizabeth “Jake” Feinler’s domain names

Pioneers in Tech: Elizabeth “Jake” Feinler’s domain names

The use of .com, .edu, .org, etc., is so commonplace you might not have contemplated its origin story. But someone had to make sense of what became the internet—and that someone is Elizabeth “Jake” Feinler, who managed the internet’s host...

/ April 9, 2021
Pioneers in Tech: Frances Allen, first female Turing Award winner

Pioneers in Tech: Frances Allen, first female Turing Award winner

Legendary IBM computer scientist Frances Allen, who passed away on her 88th birthday in August 2020, is an exemplary technology pioneer to recognize during Women’s History Month. Allen grew up on a dairy farm and attended a one-room school in...

/ March 12, 2021
Pioneers in Tech: The first African American PhD in Computer Science

Pioneers in Tech: The first African American PhD in Computer Science

The contributions of the Black community to technology history are only just beginning to be recognized, with “hidden figures” such as NASA’s Katherine Johnson finally receiving the accolades they deserve. Another tech pioneer that should be a household name is...

/ February 12, 2021 / 2 Comments
Pioneers in Tech: The ENIAC Six

Pioneers in Tech: The ENIAC Six

On Feb. 14, 1946, John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert unveiled one of the U.S. Army’s best-kept secrets of World War II: the ENIAC. The Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer was built behind closed doors in a restricted area at...

/ January 8, 2021 / 1 Comment
Pioneers in Tech: First PhD in Computer Science was a sister act

Pioneers in Tech: First PhD in Computer Science was a sister act

Here’s a bit of trivia to wow your friends: The first woman (and the second person in the United States) to earn a PhD in computer science was a Roman Catholic nun. Sister Mary Kenneth Keller earned her doctorate from...

/ December 14, 2020
Pioneers in Tech: Evelyn Berezin, Word Processing Trailblazer

Pioneers in Tech: Evelyn Berezin, Word Processing Trailblazer

The story of Evelyn Berezin’s decision to start the Redactron Corporation begins with one of those anecdotes that seems unbelievable today. The computer programmer had received a prestigious job offer from the New York Stock Exchange—only to have the offer...

/ November 13, 2020