Tag: Pioneers in Tech
Pioneers in Tech: Margaret Hamilton sends man to the moon
The photo is iconic: A young woman stands next to almost 20 bound books, the stack of books nearly as tall as her (though she appears to have a slight heel in the shoes complementing her very 1960s shift dress)....
Pioneers in Tech: Marian Croak, an “American idol” with 200 patents
Readers of a certain age will remember the frustration of trying to dial in their votes for Kelly Clarkson during the first season of American Idol. The phone lines would become overloaded! Most of us dialing in for Kelly probably...
Pioneers in Tech: Peter de Jager, the oracle of Y2K
On page 115 of the Sept. 6, 1993, issue of Computerworld, a Canadian computer consultant named Peter de Jager launched an industry: responding to Y2K. Learn more about De Jager in this edition of Pioneers in Tech. De Jager warned:...
Tech Time Warp: Happy Birthday to pioneer in tech, Grace Hopper
Admiral Grace Hopper, one of the most legendary early females in the computer industry, would have celebrated her 118th birthday on December 9. Born in New York City in 1906, Hopper built a career in the U.S. Navy and computer...
Pioneers in Tech: Fred Begay, the first Navajo to earn a PhD in physics
Native American Heritage Month, celebrated annually in November, provides an opportunity to examine and recognize the work of indigenous peoples in technology history. One of these Pioneers in Tech is Fred Begay, the first Navajo to earn a PhD in physics....
Pioneers in Tech: Dorothy Vaughn, one of the women of Apollo
The woman who became NASA’s first Black manager was honored in July with the renaming of a central building at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Learn all about her trailblazing career in this edition of Pioneers in Tech! On...
Pioneers in Tech: How Barbara Liskov revolutionized computer science
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...
Pioneers in Tech: Nikola Tesla’s vision for wireless communication
This edition of Pioneers in Tech looks at the legend of Nikola Tesla—not only do electric cars bear his name, but also his alternating-current (AC) electric system remains the basis of electricity today. Plus, the “Tesla coil” he invented is...
Pioneers in Tech: Nicholas Metropolis & and the MANIAC
While not the namesake of an Academy Award-winning film, “Nicholas Metropolis” is a name you’re not likely to forget once you’ve read this edition of Pioneers in Tech. Born on June 11, 1915, in Chicago, Nicholas Constantine Metropolis was recruited...
Pioneers in Tech: An Wang, a key player in technology’s core memories
The layperson might not immediately name An Wang as a 20th-century technical giant, but we certainly should. The Chinese American computer engineer invented the magnetic pulse transfer controlling device, which, as you will learn in this edition of Pioneers in...