Female Computer Scientists

Credited with coining the term software engineering, computer scientist and systems engineer, Margaret Heafield Hamilton served as the Director of the Software Engineering Division of the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory, overseeing the development of the on-board flight software for NASA's Apollo program.  A prolific writer, she is also the founder of two software companies; Higher Order Software and Hamilton Technologies.

Known for her humility and simplicity, Indian philanthropist and author Sudha Murty had humble beginnings as a TELCO engineer. She is married to Infosys co-founder Narayan Murty and heads the Infosys Foundation. The Padma Shri winner has penned over 200 titles, such as Dollar Bahu, in both Kannada and English.

The brain behind the Acorn Micro-Computer, Sophie Wilson also contributed to the BBC Micro and ARM architecture. During her first summer vacation at Cambridge, she designed an automated cow-feeder. Born Roger Wilson, she went through a sex-change surgery in 1994. She is also associated with local theater groups.

Shafi Goldwasser is a computer scientist who serves as the chief scientist of Duality Technologies which she co-founded in 2016. In 1997, she started serving as RSA Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), becoming the institute's first holder of the professorship. In 2012, she was honored with the Turing Award for her work in the field of cryptography.

Born Vera Buchthal, Steve Shirley moved from Germany to Britain as a child refugee during the Nazi regime. Later, going by the name Stephanie Brook, she began learning coding. Battling a male-dominated workplace environment, she changed her name to Steve. The celebrated scientist now runs a charitable foundation.

Arfa Karim was a Pakistani computer prodigy. She became the youngest Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) in 2004 and held the title until 2008. She represented Pakistan on various international forums and received Pakistan's highest literary award, the Presidential Pride of Performance, in 2005. The bright young girl suffered from ill health and died at the age of just 16. 

Joanna Rutkowska is a Polish computer security researcher. She is best known for her research on stealth malware and low-level security. She is the founder of the Qubes OS security-focused desktop operating system and Invisible Things Lab. She is the author of several popular books on systems trustability, including Intel x86 Considered Harmful and State Considered Harmful. 

Karen Aardal is a Norwegian and Dutch theoretical computer scientist, applied mathematician, and operations researcher. Apart from her research work, Aardal also works as a professor of Applied Mathematics at TU Delft. Her research work involves integer programming, combinatorial optimization, facility location, and approximation algorithms.

Belgian-born software engineer Pattie Maes made a revolutionary contribution to the e-commerce industry by redefining the human-computer interaction. She established the Fluid Interfaces Group of the MIT Media Lab and is part of the faculty of the MIT's Center for Neuro-Biological Engineering. She has also edited several books.

Born in Greece, Chrisanthi Avgerou later pursued her studies and research work in information systems in England. The LSE alumna is now a professor at the same institute. She is known for her research on the role of ICT in bringing about organizational change and socio-economic development.