Women Engineers
Throughout history, there have been many women engineers who have made significant contribution to the field. The list includes many familiar and great female engineers such as Lillian Moller Gilbreth, Emily Warren Roebling, Edith Clarke, Nora Stanton Blatch Barney, Kate Gleason.The women engineers featured in this list are from United States, United Kingdom, Canada & Australia and many more countries.
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1
Kalpana Chawla(Indian-Born American Astronaut Who Was the First Woman of Indian Origin to Go to Space)
Birthdate: March 17, 1962
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Karnal, Haryana, India
Died: February 1, 2003
Astronaut Kalpana Chawla became the first Indian-origin woman to go to space in the 1997 STS-87 mission. She and the other crew members of the Space Shuttle Columbia STS-107 mission died when the shuttle exploded before reaching Earth. The Indian weather satellite MetSat-1 was renamed Kalpana-1 in her honor.
2
Lisa Nowak
(Flight Engineer on Sts-121 and Former NASA Astronaut)
Birthdate: May 10, 1963
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Washington, D.C., United States
Former NASA astronaut and U.S. Navy captain Lisa Nowak was part of the STS-121 mission. She made headlines when she apparently attempted to kidnap Air Force captain Colleen Shipman, who was getting into a relationship with astronaut William Oefelein, who had previously dated Nowak. Nowak was subsequently dismissed from NASA.
3
Julie Payette(29th Governor General of Canada Who Served from 2017 to 2021)
Birthdate: October 20, 1963
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Canadian engineer and astronaut Julie Payette has been the Governor General of Canada from 2017 to 2021. She was initially a research scientist and then joined the Canadian Space Agency, eventually completing two spaceflights. Payette resigned as governor general after a workplace review accused her of workplace harassment.
4
Margaret Hamilton
(American Computer Scientist, Systems Engineer, and Business Owner)
Birthdate: August 17, 1936
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Paoli, Indiana, United States
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.
Birthdate: August 13, 1987
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: United States
Birthdate: April 5, 1949
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Akron, Ohio, United States
Died: January 28, 1986
Judith Resnik was an American software engineer, electrical engineer, pilot, biomedical engineer, and NASA astronaut. She was the fourth woman and the first Jewish woman in space, logging 145 hours in orbit. Resnik, who died during the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986, received several posthumous honors. Judith Resnik’s life and career inspired the 1990 TV movie Challenger.
Birthdate: November 7, 1969
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Tainan, Taiwan
Born in Taiwan, Lisa Su, the CEO of AMD, moved to the US at age 3. Lisa eventually earned a PhD in electrical engineering from MIT. Named to the Forbes America’s Self-Made Women 2020 list, she is also the first woman recipient of the IEEE Robert Noyce Medal.
Birthdate: September 23, 1843
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Cold Spring, New York
Died: February 28, 1903
Apart from being a socialite, Emily Warren Roebling was also a skilled engineer. She took over the reins of designing the Brooklyn Bridge when her husband, the chief engineer of the project, Washington Augustus Roebling, was rendered bedridden. She went against the grain and earned a law certificate, too.
9
Anousheh Ansari
(American-Iranian engineer)
Birthdate: September 12, 1966
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Mashhad
10
Ellen Ochoa
(The First Hispanic Woman to Go to Space)
Birthdate: May 10, 1958
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, United States
Ellen Ochoa is an American engineer and classical flautist. A former astronaut, Ochoa was the first Hispanic woman in space. In 2012, she became the first Hispanic director of Johnson Space Center. Ochoa has won several prestigious awards including NASA's Distinguished Service Medal and Space Flight Medals. In 2017, she was inducted into the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame.
Birthdate: February 10, 1883
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Howard County
Died: October 29, 1959
12
Stephanie Sheh
(Voice actress known for notable voice roles include Hinata Hyuga in the Naruto franchise, Orihime Inoue in Bleach)
Birthdate: April 10, 1977
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States
13
Samantha Cristoforetti
(Astronaut, Aviator, Engineer)
Birthdate: April 26, 1977
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Milan
14
Hertha Ayrton
(British Engineer, Mathematician, Physicist and Inventor Known for Her Work With the 'Electric Arcs')
Birthdate: April 28, 1854
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Portsea, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England
Died: August 26, 1923
Hertha Ayrton was a British engineer, physicist, mathematician, and inventor. She is remembered for her work on electric arcs and ripple marks in sand and water, for which she was awarded the Hughes Medal by the Royal Society. As a woman in the 19th century, she had to face innumerable struggles in her career. She was also a passionate suffragist.
Birthdate: May 24, 1878
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Oakland, California, United States
Died: January 2, 1972
16
Karen L. Nyberg
(Astronaut, Engineer)
Birthdate: October 7, 1969
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Parkers Prairie
17
Lynn Conway
(Transgender Activist & Computer Scientist Who Initiated The Mead-Conway VLSI Chip Design Revolution)
Birthdate: January 2, 1938
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Mount Vernon, New York, United States
Birthdate: 1968 AD
Birthplace: Burma
Birthdate: December 18, 1951
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Portsmouth, Virginia, United States
Birthdate: September 30, 1883
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Basingstoke
Died: January 18, 1971
One of the first female engineers in the US, Nora Stanton Blatch Barney was also a leading suffragist and the granddaughter of women’s rights activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton. She was also the first woman to graduate in engineering from Cornell and sued the ASCE for denying her a full-membership.
Birthdate: August 5, 1972
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Richmond
22
Marie Bashir
(Engineer, Psychiatrist, Physician, University teacher)
Birthdate: December 1, 1930
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Narrandera
Marie Bashir created history when she became the first female governor of New South Wales. A doctor, too, she was initially associated with children’s hospitals and later focused on psychiatry. She also worked for the mentally ill and homeless people from the Aboriginal community of Australia.
23
Catherine Coleman
(Chemist, Air force officer, Astronaut, Engineer)
Birthdate: December 14, 1960
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Charleston
24
Anna Murphy
(Musician and audio engineer)
Birthdate: August 10, 1989
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Lucerne, Switzerland
While she gained recognition with the folk metal band Eluveitie, which she joined at age 16, Swiss musician Anna Murphy later also led the 3-member folk rock band Cellar Darling. Born to opera singer parents, she was never a stranger to music. Proficient in hurdy-gurdy, she also plays the flute at times.
25
Vilma Espín
(Cuban Revolutionary, Feminist, and Chemical Engineer Who Helped Organize the '26th of July Movement')
Birthdate: April 7, 1930
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
Died: June 18, 2007
Vilma Espín Guillois was a Cuban revolutionary, chemical engineer, and feminist. She is best remembered as an adamant feminist who helped organize a vanguard revolutionary organization called 26th of July Movement, which later became a political party. Vilma Espín also helped establish the Federation of Cuban Women. She also advocated equal rights for women in all aspects of life.
26
Susan Helms
(Air force officer, Astronaut, Engineer)
Birthdate: February 26, 1958
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Charlotte
27
Winnie Byanyima
(Engineer, Politician)
Birthdate: January 13, 1959
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Mbarara, Uganda
28
Betty Holberton
(Computer scientist, Programmer)
Birthdate: March 7, 1917
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Philadelphia
Died: December 8, 2001
29
Jessica Fridrich
(Educator)
Birthdate: 1964 AD
Birthplace: Ostrava, Czech Republic
30
Margaret Calvert
(Graphic designer)
Birthdate: 1936 AD
Birthplace: South Africa
Graphic designer Margaret Calvert has created quite a name for herself, working with Jock Kinneir on projects such as the design of the road-signing system of the UK. She has also worked on signs at railway stations and airports, and the typeface on the website of the UK government.
31
Elsie MacGill
(Aerospace Engineer)
Birthdate: March 27, 1905
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Died: November 4, 1980
32
Florence Devouard
(Wikimedian co-founder)
Birthdate: September 10, 1968
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Versailles, France
Florence Devouard is a French engineer who served as the chair of the board of trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation from 2006 to 2008. Since July 2008, Devouard has been serving on the advisory board of the Wikimedia Foundation. Devouard is also credited with co-founding Wikimedia France for which she received a knighthood in the French National Order of Merit.
33
Marsha Ivins
(Astronaut, Engineer)
Birthdate: April 15, 1951
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Baltimore
Birthdate: 1989 AD
Birthplace: England
35
Fionnghuala O'Reilly
(Model)
Birthdate: 1993 AD
Birthplace: Fort Knox, Kentucky, United States
36
Claire Barratt
(Archaeologist, Mechanical Engineer)
Birthdate: 1974 AD
Birthplace: England
While she initially studied engineering, Claire Barratt later gained fame as an industrial archaeologist. She has a degree in conservation of industrial heritage. She also has a parallel career as a TV presenter and has been part of shows such as Salvage Squad and Britain's Secret Treasures.
37
Asuman Özdağlar
(Educator)
Birthdate: December 16, 1974
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Turkey
Birthdate: May 28, 1933
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Bratislava, Slovakia
Birthdate: July 20, 1931
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Western Oblast, Russia
Died: November 30, 2017
40
Kathryn P. Hire
(Astronaut)
Birthdate: August 26, 1959
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Mobile, Alabama, United States
41
Yvonne Brill
(Rocket Scientist)
Birthdate: December 30, 1924
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Winnipeg, Canada
Died: March 27, 2013
Birthdate: November 25, 1865
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Rochester
Died: January 9, 1933
Known as successful businesswoman, Catherine Anselm Gleason had many firsts to her credit. The first woman to study engineering at Cornell University, she later became the first female to become receiver of a bankrupt company and successfully restored it. Later, she also became the first female president of a national bank, and member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
43
Aïssata Issoufou Mahamadou
(Former First Lady of Niger)
Birthplace: Maine Soroa, Niger
Birthdate: 1999 AD
Birthplace: Harar, Ethiopia
45
Aleksandra Pivec
(Deputy Prime Minister of Slovenia)
Birthdate: March 26, 1972
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Ptuj, Slovenia
Aleksandra Pivec is a Slovenian politician and chemical engineer. She is best known for her service as the Deputy Prime Minister of Slovenia from 13 March 2020 to 5 October 2020. A prominent politician, Aleksandra Pivec also served as the Minister of Agriculture from 13 September 2018 to 15 October 2020.
46
Carolina Cosse
(Intendant of Montevideo)
Birthdate: December 25, 1961
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Montevideo, Uruguay
Carolina Cosse is a Uruguayan politician and engineer best known for her service as the Minister of Industry, Energy and Mining from March 2, 2015 to January 23, 2019. She also served as the Senator of Uruguay for nine months in 2020. Carolina Cosse is currently serving as Intendant of Montevideo.
47
Ilya Espino de Marotta
(Panamanian Engineer)
48
Aisha Mohammed Mussa
(Ethiopian Minister of Irrigation and Lowland Areas Development)
Birthdate: 1979 AD
Birthplace: Derg, Ethiopia
A qualified civil engineer, Ethiopian politician Aisha Mohammed Mussa is the country’s current minister of irrigation and lowland areas development. She has previously led the country as its first female defense minister and has also been Ethiopia’s minister of urban development and construction.
49
Aisha Bowe
(Bahamian-American Aerospace Engineer)
Birthplace: Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
50
Sara Akbar
(Chemical engineer, Businesswomen)
Birthdate: 1958 AD
Birthplace: Unknown