AMIE CHEN

For gamers, digital artists, and coders alike, there is nothing more satisfying than a well-designed UI (user interface). Amie Chen has had much success with her UIs over the years, helping multiple startups and larger companies appeal to their clientele with an easy-to-understand interface. Among her programs are Pretzel, which shows keyboard shortcuts depending on which app is the current focus. She’s also the mind behind Stitches, an HTML template generator with CSS functions. In an interview with Maker Mag, she told them “making products is a byproduct of getting to a good solution, and getting closer to a good solution is what gets me out of bed every day.”

ARIELE ALASKO

On the opposite end of the spectrum of “digital to traditional” lies Ariele Alasko, a woodworker from Brooklyn. What began as a hobby quickly spiraled into a full-time job, with Alasko dedicating her time to crafting both functional and decorative pieces. One of her specialties? Brushes shaped like a “U” with bristles on both sides. But she’s also made cutlery, tables, mobiles, and wall hangings. Her Instagram is updated regularly with pictures of her woodwork as well, some of it for sale. (Occasionally, the updates are of her dog, Mazie.)

MENGLY HERNANDEZ

Most people find repetition to be… well, repetitive. But Mengly Hernandez relishes in it. According to her website, it’s “a meditation through which she explores and mends traumatic memories.” Beyond personal healing, it results in beautiful patterns and designs full of color. Her craft manifests in art installations and sculptures using a mix of fibers and textiles. She’s even dabbled in performance art. While none of her work is for sale, don’t think she’s just letting it sit in a gallery: much of it adorns her home or her body (or that of her children).

SARA VIEIRA

Hailing from Portugal, Sara Vieira is well-known for her unique, front-end apps and advocacy for mental health. In 2018, she released the popular app “Is There Uber In,” which informs travelers whether there’s a ridesharing service available in a certain location. As for mental health, her presentation “Your Brain Does Not Have a Fix Flag” uses pop culture references and easy-to-understand language to tackle a very serious issue. Her retelling of her own struggles with panic disorder and depression are blunt, but the writing and multitude of GIFs make it enjoyable.

JESS EDDY

Continuing our international tour is Jess Eddy, based out of Sydney, Australia. She’s worked on several projects over the years. Among these are “UI Goodies” and “Get a Room.” The former is a catalog of resources for designers and developers build a user interface. The latter allows users to easily book a conference room. In 2018, she told Maker Mag “to me, indie making is about empowerment. It’s not about waiting for someone else to bring a solution or asking for permission. It’s observing your environment and looking for areas to improve upon or innovate it.”

LAUREN HOM

Here’s a fun motto for you: “work hard, snack often.” These are the words that Lauren Hom has dedicated her life to. You’ve probably seen her lettering before- some of her past clients include Starbucks, YouTube, and TIME Magazine. The McCafé products at McDonald’s? That’s her! And true to her motto, her Instagram frequently features her delectable looking “Hom Noms.” Also worth checking out is her “Flour Crowns” series, where she dons delightful headwear… made of bread. Who says female makers can’t be stylish?

LISA HOLBROOK LEWIS

Lisa Holbrook Lewis is a female maker from Oregon who specializes in handmade goods. Her main passion are stump prints. Using stumps or logs found during hikes, she dips them in ink and stamps them to paper. The result is a one-of-a-kind piece of art. But that’s not all she can do with wood. She’s also crafted stools, candle holders, end tables, and planters from scavenged wood. While her Instagram hasn’t been updated for a while, her website “Light & Ink” still has plenty of prints available for sale.

LIMOR FRIED

Known as “Lady Ada,” Limor Fried is more than just an icon among makers. She’s empowering other makers to bring their creations to life. (Much like Inventionland!) Her company, Adafruit, was founded in 2005 and quickly became a staple for the NYC maker scene. In 2016, she was named a White House Champion of Change. Two years later, Forbes Magazine deemed her one of America’s Top 50 Women in Tech. She’s still proud of her honor with Wired Magazine, however, being the first female engineer to grace the cover.

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1) Marie Curie: Theory of Radioactivity

One of the greatest scientific minds of all time, Marie Curie was the first person to study the Theory of Radioactivity and discovered that we could split an atom. After the tragic death of her husband, Pierre Curie, she became the first woman to hold the position of Professor of General Physics in the Faculty of Sciences. Marie received a Nobel Prize for her work with radioactivity and she received it a second time for discovering polonium and radium.

2) Grace Hopper: The Computer

Prior to Grace Hopper’s work on computers, all programs were written in numerical code. She not only designed Harvard’s Mark I computer in 1944, but she also invented the compiler. This device translated written language into computer coding. Later, she co-invented COBOL- the first universal programming language used in business and government. As if all of this wasn’t enough, she also coined the terms ‘bug/debugging’ and she was a Rear Admiral in the Navy.

3) Rosalind Franklin: DNA Double Helix

The discovery of the DNA double helix is often attributed to James Watson and Francis Click, who won the Nobel Prize for the discovery in 1962. However, they weren’t actually the ones who made the discovery. The first person to capture the photographic image using x-ray diffraction was British biophysicist Rosalind Franklin. Though her two competitors stole credit for the discovery long ago, Rosalind has more recently begun to receive credit for her contributions.

4) Stephanie Kwolek: Kevlar

That’s right, the fiber credited with saving countless lives was discovered by female inventor Stephanie Kwolek. She made the discovery as she attempted to invent an alternative for steel in radial car tires. She was attempting to turn a solid polymer into a liquid and although this failed, when she looked closer she realized the fibers in the substance were five times stronger than steel. Since its discovery, it has been used for anything from bicycle tires to (most famously) police protective vests.

5) Josephine Cochrane: The Dishwasher

This is the woman you can thank for keeping us from having to wash every dish by hand. She originally came up with the idea of a mechanical dishwasher that would hold dishes in a rack while pressurized water sprayed them clean. After her husband passed, she began marketing her inventions to hotels until, eventually, it became the standard household appliance we now know today.

6) Maria Beasley: The Life Raft

Though Maria invented several successful devices, her most famous is the life raft. Prior to her contributions, emergency rafts were simple planks with no guard rails. Maria invented a more sophisticated device that was fireproof, easily folded and unfolded for storage and had guard rails on the sides to keep people safe inside.

7) Dr. Shirley Jackson: Modern Day Telecommunication

A more modern-day female inventor, Shirley made history as the first black woman to graduate with a PhD. from MIT in 1973. She then began to work at Bell Laboratories, where she completed research that led to such creations as solar cells, fiber optic cables, portable fax machines, touch-tone telephones, caller ID and call waiting.

8) Katharine Burr Blodgett: Non-reflective Glass

During World War II, Katharine was a crucial mind in the research behind several inventions, including gas masks, smoke screens and a technique for de-icing airplane wings. However, her work in chemistry on a molecular level resulted in her most important invention: non-reflective glass. This type of glass is what we now use in glasses, car shields, and computer screens.

9) Hedy Lamarr: “Frequency Hopping” Technology

You may know Hedy Lamarr as a glamorous black and white film star, but did you know she also worked to improve torpedo technology in WWII? A gifted mathematician and engineer, she worked with a composer to develop the idea of ‘frequency hopping’ which would encrypt torpedo control signals. This technology was able to prevent enemies from sending torpedos off course. Even more impressively, the type of technology she developed ended up being the foundation for many modern-day inventions, including Wi-Fi and GPS.

10) Mary Anderson: Windshield Wiper

Much like many great inventors, Mary wanted to solve a problem. She saw how unsafe it was to drive in bad weather when she visited New York City in 1902 and rode a trolley car in falling sleet. She quickly came up with a working model that used a lever inside the car to control a rubber blade on the windshield. Though she had trouble selling her invention at first, eventually Cadillac included her invention on its vehicles in 1922.

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March 1 through March 31 marks the celebration of Women’s History Month. This month-long celebration is meant to pay tribute to the “generations of women whose commitment to nature and the planet have proved invaluable to society.”

Throughout the course of history, women have played an integral role in the development of technology.

While we celebrate the skilled women we have working at Inventionland everyday – like Prototype Builder Sharon, Master Seamstress Bev, and more – today, we take a moment to shine the spotlight on three women in particular whose inventions have changed the way we carry out our daily lives.

Invention: Car Heater
Inventor: Margaret A. Wilcox

In 1893, Margaret A. Wilcox received credit for inventing and patenting a car heater. The first car heater was created in a certain way that it would direct air from over the engines to warm the feet of 19^th century motorists. But, that’s not the only invention that can be credited to Wilcox; in fact, she also invented a combined clothes and dishwasher. Talk about efficiency! Though the latter never took off, it’s safe to say that we’re thankful for her first invention that keeps us warm in the cold weather!

Invention: The Fire Escape
Inventor: Anna Connelly

In 1887, in an effort to prevent the deaths of many living in multi-story buildings, Anna Connelly patented the exterior fire escape. This invention was actually a fire escape bridge that was surrounded by railings and with openings at the ends. Connelly’s innovative idea allowed for the safe escape from one building to the next in the event there was a fire.

Invention: Windshield Wipers
Inventor: Mary Anderson

Could you imagine driving around during a rainstorm without the help of a pair of windshield wipers? Odds are that car ride would be a very arduous journey. Luckily, thanks to Mary Anderson, drivers can see clearly now because of her invention of the windshield wipers. During a visit to New York City, Anderson noticed that many drivers were sticking their heads out the window in order to see during bad weather. So, after some hard work and creativity, in 1903 Anderson received a patent for a rubber blade that drivers could use by pushing a lever inside of their car. Thirteen years later in 1916, her invention became standard equipment for vehicles!

Today and every day, we’d like to thank those innovative women whose inventions have impacted all of our lives with their ingenuity.

Copyright Inventionland, 2016

Sources:

https://www.sliptalk.com/women-inventors/

https://www.levo.com/articles/news/10-female-inventors-that-saved-our-lives

Images:

https://sliptalk.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/13181418/1.png

https://nightfame.com/style/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/68C5D5E7F92E2137D3BBEE012865E.jpg

https://georgemdavison.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/mary-anderson.jpg

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