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Honored Persons Database

Displaying 1 – 20 of 214 Honorees (Gender: Female, with portraits)

  • Lydia E. Kavraki

    Known for research in robotics, bioinformatics, and algorithms, Kavraki left Greece to pursue a PhD in computer science at Stanford University. Drawn to the human potential of robotics, Kavraki studied how robots—from...

  • Orna Berry

    The first woman to serve as chief scientist and head of the industrial R&D operation of the Israeli Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labour, Berry took on that role in 1996. An...

  • Stephanie L. Kwolek

    Inventor of Kevlar (poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide), Kwolek was an American chemist whose career at DuPont spanned more than 40 years. Her discovery earned her the DuPont Lavoisier Medal for outstanding technical achievement, and...

  • Maria Klawe

    Known for her advocacy for women in STEM fields, Klawe served as the fifth president of Harvey Mudd College from 2006 to 2023. Prior to that role, she served as Dean of...

  • Padmasree Warrior

    Recognized by Forbes as one of the 100 most powerful women in the world in 2014, Warrior is an Indian-American technology executive with a career spanning major roles in hardware, software, and...

  • Jennifer Granholm

    The first woman to serve as both Attorney General and Governor of Michigan, Granholm held those offices from 1999 to 2003 and 2003 to 2011, respectively, and later served as the 16th...

  • Clare-Marie Karat

    Author of the "Computer User's Bill of Rights" and creator of a cost-benefit methodology for analyzing the return on investment in usability, Karat is a leading figure in Human Computer Interaction research....

  • Regina Honu

    Founder of Soronko Academy, the first coding and human-centered design school for children and young adults in West Africa, Honu was a Ghanaian social entrepreneur and software developer who also established Soronko...

  • Jean E. Sammet

    Developer of FORMAC, the first widely used computer language for symbolic manipulation of mathematical formulas, Sammet spent 27 years at IBM where she created it. She received her B.A. in Math from Mount...

  • Ling Liu

    Head of the Distributed Data Intensive Systems Lab (DiSL) research group at Georgia Institute of Technology, Liu is known for producing a number of open-source software systems, including WebCQ, XWRAPElite, PeerCrawl, GTMobSIM,...

  • Valerie Landau

    Developer of a multi-touch interface for chorded text entry, Landau filed two patents with her colleague and mentor Douglas Engelbart. Their most recent patent (filed April 2010) describes a multitouch interface for...

  • Heike E. Riel

    Major contributor to the development of the world's largest-ever (20") full-color amorphous-silicon active-matrix display based on organic light-emitting diodes, presented in May 2003, Riel has served as Manager of the Materials Integration...

  • Margaret R. Fox

    Member of the technical staff of the Electronic Computer Laboratory at the National Bureau of Standards, Fox graduated from Wisconsin State College in 1940 and joined the U.S. Naval Reserve in 1943,...

  • Lisa T. Su

    Inducted into the WITI Hall of Fame in 2021, Su became Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). Since taking the helm in 2014, she led a major transformation...

  • Yvonne Marie Andres

    Among the earliest people to use the Internet to develop global e-learning opportunities for educators and students, Andrés founded the nonprofit Global SchoolNet in 1984, an international organization that facilitates collaborative educational...

  • Dorothy Vaughan

    The first African American woman to receive a promotion and supervise a group of staff at Langley Research Center, Vaughan became acting supervisor of the West Area Computers in 1949 and was...

  • Founding CEO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Stonesifer built her career on executive leadership spanning technology, philanthropy, and public service. She began in various executive roles at Microsoft before taking...

  • Susan Hares

    Co-author of the BGP specification — the protocol considered industry-wide to be the most important on the Internet — Hares is an internationally recognized leader in commercialized advanced networking technologies and products...

  • Janet Emerson Bashen

    Regarded as the first African American woman to obtain a web-based software patent, Bashen earned that distinction through her invention of LinkLine, a web-based EEO software application designed to assist with equal...

  • Maxine Fassberg

    Named one of the "10 most powerful women in tech" by CNN in 2010, Fassberg spent 33 years rising through key positions at Intel, ultimately serving as general manager and CEO of...