Author: Neal McBurnett
Posted: 2010-03-24 14:02:04-06:00
It's time to celebrate Ada Lovelace Day and honor some women I'm lucky to know who have made contributions in technology and science.
I have been a fan of Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage since I got a t-shirt about the Analytical Engine in 1975. Other technically and scientifically adept women have inspired, challenged and educated me all my life.
My grandmother, Mary Lindsay White McBurnett, saw Halley's comet in 1910 from the gloriously dark skies of Texas, and always communicated her love for astronomy. Two cousins, Susan Hammonds and Ann Hammonds, have enviable scientific credentials and help advance the fields of psychology and genetics.
At Bell Labs starting in the 1980's, I was lucky to work with an inspiring, effective and forward-looking group of engineers. They included Margaret Burd, Teresa Matsushita, Sandy North, Deb Hill, Lori Fuller, Jane Gambill, Theresa Szczurek, JoAnn Zelasko, Lucy Sanders, Sarah Kiefhaber, Ronnie Trowbridge, Beth Benko, Connie O'Dell and many others. Beyond their many technical accomplishments, I appreciate their groundbreaking work with the Bell Labs WISE Club (Women's Issues, Status and Environment) and "Take your Daughter to Work Day" which helped create a diverse and innovative environment for everyone.
Other shout-outs go to Connie Barlow whose books and web sites connect us to the real Great Story of the universe, Biz Hertzberg with her incredible eye for visualizing flow with insight and beauty, Martha Kane Savage for her adventurous spirit and contributions to seismology and geophysics, and Tina Seelig for sharing her love of innovation with so many students.
Recently, Julie Colwell, Lin Hardin and Katie Hendricks have brought science, observation and their deep inner wisdom to bear in bringing profound learnings for my sense of who I am and how to get where I want to go.
And finally, congratulations to my wife Dr. Holly Lewis, an adventurous theatre major with a masters in counseling who demonstrated how to go back to school years later for science and medical training and incorporate it all into a marvelous holistic practice of medicine.