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First general-purpose computing device
Charles Babbage, an English mechanical engineer and polymath, originated the concept of a programmable computer. Considered the "father of the computer", he conceptualized and invented the first mechanical computer in the early 19th century. After working on his revolutionary difference engine, designed to aid in navigational calculations, in 1833 he realized that a much more general design, an Analytical Engine, was possible. -
Ada Lovelace reported to be the first computer Programmer
Reference link for Ada Lovelace Aside from having one of the most impressive names ever, Miss Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace was the only legitimate child of the poet Lord Byron and Anne Isabella Milbanke, herself a mathematician who was known as the “princess of parallelograms.” Ada was taught math and science lest she succumb to “dangerous poetic tendencies.” Literatures loss became technology’s gain when, in 1843 she translated Luigi Menabrea’s memoir on Babbage’s analytical engine, the first computer program. -
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Women not recognized for their computer science work during this timeframe
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Women Suffrage 70 year struggle - Passing the 19th ammendment
During the early 1800's, the idea of equality became more prominent and social conditions for women began to change, which led to the birth of the Women's Suffrage Movement. Although women were still considered weaker then men, they started to receive more educational opportunities. For instance, by the end of the 19th century the number of women students increased to more than one third then before. -
Digital computer development
The principle of the modern computer was first described by mathematician and pioneering computer scientist Turing, who set out the idea in his seminal 1936 paper, Turing reformulated Kurt Gödel's 1931 results on the limits of proof and computation, replacing Gödel's universal arithmetic-based formal language with the formal and simple hypothetical devices that became known as Turing machines. He proved that some such machine would be capable of performing any mathematical computation. -
Torpedo Data Computer (TDC)
The TDC an early electromechanical analog computer used for torpedo fire-control on American submarines during World War II. Britain, Germany, and Japan also developed automated torpedo fire control equipment, but none were as advanced as the US Navy's TDC, as it was able to automatically track the target rather than simply offering an instantaneous firing solution. This unique capability of the TDC set the standard for submarine torpedo fire control during World War II. -
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World War II Technological Advances
Please see link for more information on WWII Science and TechnologyFor all the role of science, mathematics, and new inventions in earlier wars, no war had as profound an effect on the technologies of our current lives than World War II . No war was as profoundly affected by science, math, and technology than WWII. Electronic computers were developed by the British for breaking the Nazi “Enigma” codes, and by the Americans for calculating ballistics and other battlefield equations. Early control centers on ships and aircraft pioneered the networks used today. -
automatic electronic digital computer
John Vincent Atanasoff and Clifford E. Berry of Iowa State University developed and tested the Atanasoff–Berry Computer (ABC) in 1942, the first "automatic electronic digital computer".[28] This design was also all-electronic and used about 300 vacuum tubes, with capacitors fixed in a mechanically rotating drum for memory. -
THE BIRTH OF THE ELECTRIC COMPUTER
In World War II the Army was tasked with a Herculean job: calculate the trajectories of ballistic missiles—the arcs that artillery shells take from the time they leave cannon muzzles to the time they reach their target—by hand. These differential calculus equations were used to target the weapons, and as the firepower increased in the field, so did the demand for the ballistics firing tables. The problem was that each equation took 30 hours to complete, and the Army needed thousands of them. -
The Ladies of ENIAC
Comprised of Kay McNulty, Marlyn Wescoff, Fran Bilas, Ruth Lichterman, Adele Goldstine (and Betty Snyder), these ladies were the first “computors” working on ENIAC at the University of Pennsylvania’s Moore School of Engineering. Bearing the job title of “computor” the ladies were responsible for making calculations for tables of firing and bombing trajectories, and to determine the correct sequence of steps to complete the calculations for each problem and to set up the ENIAC accordingly. -
Grace Hooper Software Programmer
That’s ADMIRAL Hopper to you, soldier. she, was not only one of the first female programmers, but also the first woman to graduate from Yale with a Ph.D in mathematics AND the first woman to reach the rank of Admiral in the U.S. Navy. In addition to inventing the first computer complier in 1952, she developed COBOL (Common Business-Oriented Language), was credited with popularizing the term “bug” and “debugging” – reportedly when she had to remove a moth from the inside of a computer. -
Jean Sammet
Sammet joined IBM in 1961 and directed the development of FORMAC, a widely used programming language and system for symbolic mathematics. In 1965, she became programming language technology manager in the IBM systems development division and later led IBM's work on the Ada programming language. -
Sister Mary Kenneth Keller
Ph.D from the University of Wisconsin in 1965, Sister Keller went on to assist in the development of BASIC computer language at Dartmouth – which had previously held a “men only” rule. Sister Keller, who also held a BS in Mathematics and an MS in Mathematics and Physics from DePaul University, felt that women should be involved in computer science (especially in the field of information specialist) and has been quoted as saying “We’re having an information explosion… -
STEM careers! Girls think about what's on the Horizon!
The EYH Network began in 1974 as the Math/Science Network, an informal group of women scientists and educators in the San Francisco Bay Area who were concerned about low female participation in math courses. On a volunteer basis, members of the group began planning coordinated efforts to strengthen their individual programs and to offer mutual support.
Early in EYH’s history, its leaders developed the idea of ‘conferences,’ programs in which middle-school and high-school girls get hands on fun! -
Carol Shaw First female Game designer
aid to hold the title and honor of being the first female video game designers, Shaw was originally an Atari employee, then later joined Activision where she programmed her best known game, River Raid which everyone remembers as a "classic"– a scrolling shooter, RR was released in 1982 by Activitsion for the Atari 2600. Shaw also brought us 3-D Tic Tac Toe (1979) Super Breakout (1978), and Happy Trails (1984). -
Most Influential Women in Web design
Leah Culver (born November 5, 1982) is a programmer. Culver is a 2006 computer science graduate of the University of Minnesota. In 2007, she co-founded the micro-blogging site Pownce, acquired by Six Apart in December 2008. She left Six Apart in February 2010.[ She co-founded Convore, focused on real time chat in 2011. Currently she works in the Developer Advocate team at Dropbox. Culver was named among the Most Influential Women in Web 2.0 by Fast Company Magazine in November 2008 -
37.1% Women Computer Science
In 1984, 37.1% of Computer Science degrees were awarded to women. Women’s representation in the computing and information technology workforce has been falling from a peak of 38% in the mid-1980s. From 1993 through 1999, NSF’s SESTAT reported that the percentage of women working as computer/information scientists (including those who hold a bachelor's degree or higher in an S&E field or have a bachelor's degree or higher and are working in an S&E field) declined slightly from 33.1% to 29.6%. -
Mother of the Internet Radia Perlman
Perlman is a software designer and network engineer who is most famous for her invention of the spanning-tree protocol. Perlman, who developed spanning-tree while working for Digital Equipment Corp, holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Mathematics and a Ph.D in Computer Science from MIT. So, you know, girl’s got mad skills. Spanning-tree is a network protocol that ensures a loop-free topology for any bridged Ethernet local area network -which is fundamental to the operation of network bridges. -
29.9% Women Computer Science Degrees
Although teenage girls are now using computers and the Internet at rates similar to their male peers, they are five times less likely to consider a technology-related career or plan on taking post-secondary technology classes.[13] The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) reports that of the SAT takers who intend to major in computer and information sciences, the proportion of girls has steadily decreased relative to the proportion of boys, from 20 percent in 2001 to 12%. -
12% of Computer Science bachelor's degrees were awarded to women
A study of over 7000 high school students in Vancouver, Canada showed that the degree of interest in the field of computer science for young women is comparably lower than that of young men. The same effect is seen in higher education; for instance, only 4% of female college freshmen expressed intention to major in computer science in the US.[25] Research has shown that some aspects about computing may discourage women. One of the biggest turn-offs is the "geek factor". -
Imperial Valley Expanding Your Horizons Conference
220 Imperial Valley Girls attended the first annual EYH conference last April. Next April 6th 2016 more girls will be inspired to explore new horizons related to the Science Technology Engineering and Math Occupations. Thank you to all the extordinary women who open doors and expanded minds. -
Fast Forward to the 2000's Micro Computers
miniaturization of computing resources, and advancements in portable battery life, portable computers grew in popularity in the 2000s.The same developments that spurred the growth of laptop computers and other portable computers allowed manufacturers to integrate computing resources into cellular phones. These so-called smartphones and tablets run on a variety of operating systems and have become the dominant computing device on the market. -
Celebrating Ada Lovelace Day
Happy Ada Lovelace Day everyone! Today is a day to celebrate inspirational women in science, technology, maths and engineering, in the hope that by shining a light on such people and increasing their visibility, they can inspire future generations.
Ada Lovelace Day was founded in 2009 by Suw Charman-Anderson, and part of her reason for doing this was a worry that women in tech were invisible. The idea was a positive one - rather than highlighting the problem, highlight the unseen women and shout
