Ada Lovelace

Tuesday, March 24th is a day for bloggers to honor and acknowledge the achievements of women in technology under the banner of celebrating Ada Lovelace Day. Ada Lovelace (1815-1852) was a brilliant metaphysicist and inventor. The daughter of the great romantic poet Lord Byron, she is considered to have been the first software programmer. The Science Museum in England has more information on Ada Lovelace Day at this link.

Dr. Ellen Ochoa

In honor of Ada Lovelace Day I’d also like to give a shout out to another modern American woman achieving great things in technology, Dr. Ellen Ochoa (B. May 10, 1958). Ellen Ochoa has invented and holds patents on two different optical systems; one used for quality control in the manufacturing of various intricate parts, and a second which can be used to robotically manufacture goods or in robotic guiding systems. In addition to being an inventor, Dr. Ochoa is also a research scientist and astronaut for NASA. She has logged over 719 hours in space and is a veteran of three space flights – her most recent mission being 10 days aboard the space shuttle Discovery in May of 1999.  Ellen Ochoa also holds the distinction of being the first hispanic astronaut. In other words, she rocks.