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Almost Over - Finding Ada Day-Women-Science,etc
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Almost Over - Finding Ada Day-Women-Science,etc |
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Subject: BS: Almost Over - Finding Ada Day From: JohnInKansas Date: 16 Oct 12 - 10:57 PM Oct. 16 is the fourth "Ada Lovelace Day," on which women in science, tech, engineering and mathematics are celebrated for their work, whether contemporary or historical. Ada Lovelace was a 19th-century mathematician who collaborated with Charles Babbage on his theoretical "Analytical Engine," perhaps the earliest ancestor of today's computers. Though Lovelace died at 36, her intellect and tenacity in the face of a male-dominated field have made her something of a legend. The day to honor her began in 2009, when nearly 2,000 people pledged to blog about women in technology, using Oct. 16 as a marker. The tradition continued, growing in popularity and visibility, and is now a more general occasion on which to recognize the contributions of women in the science, tech, engineering and mathematics fields. This year, stories and articles are being tracked at Finding Ada, a site dedicated to Ada Lovelace Day and women in scientific fields. If you'd like to contribute, it is suggested that you highlight or tell the story of a woman, past or present, who is involved in science, tech, math, or any related field. Or you can simply browse the Web to find the stories others have posted. More information on the day and its history can be found at Finding Ada. Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for NBC News Digital. His personal website is coldewey.cc. Finding Ada The Ada computer language originated as a Government effort to standardize how different devices within complex systems communicate with each other, and was originally only an "interface specification" although it quickly grew into a full-featured programming language. (Most people never were aware of it before it began appearing in programs.) Sort of like what happened to SGML when it was morphed into HTML. (Personal opinion: The biographical accounts of Ada give a fascinating view of an earlier time; and looking up a few might be of interest to those not already familiar with her.) John |
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Subject: RE: BS: Almost Over - Finding Ada Day From: autoharpbob Date: 17 Oct 12 - 07:55 AM Interesting that it takes someone in Kansas to raise this! Ada was the legitimate daughter of Lord Byron, and is buried near him in St Mary's church in Hucknall, Notts, my old stomping ground before I moved to Lincoln. He only saw her once, aged 5 weeks, and her mother hated the arts so much that she steered her daughter in the direction of the sciences - where she excelled. Very interesting character. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Almost Over - Finding Ada Day From: JohnInKansas Date: 17 Oct 12 - 09:14 AM I probably didn't pick the best title for the thread, but I rushed getting it up here because it was almost too late to be useful. I've heard - and searched out - a fair amount of info on Ada, and have had the opinion for some time that she was one who deserves to be better known. The point of "the day" though was (is it too late now?) to recognize both her and other women who have made worthy contributions. I guess maybe I should have followed the established mudcat tradition (from down here below the line) and put "Wimmunz" in the title? It still is something worth discussion, even if the official day is done, or at least I hope so. John |
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Subject: RE: BS: Almost Over - Finding Ada Day From: Rapparee Date: 17 Oct 12 - 09:32 AM It's never too late to recognize the contributions of ANYONE to science OR the arts. Ada Lovelace was a fantastic mind and probably did more for Babbage's engine than Babbage did. Like Bassi, Apgar, Germain, Meitner, Hopper, Mitchell, Burnell and Avrams they are all too often ignored or shoved aside. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Almost Over - Finding Ada Day From: Pete Jennings Date: 17 Oct 12 - 09:51 AM Second that, Rap. |
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Subject: RE: Almost Over - Finding Ada Day-Women-Science,etc From: JohnInKansas Date: 18 Oct 12 - 01:53 AM Not exactly the sort of thing one thinks of first as an example of women making valuable contributions, but an all female team from an Arizona High School have claimed to have invented a T-shirt that inflates itself when it gets wet. It sort of boggles some male minds, but the girls insist it's intended use is as a life preserver for toddlers. They make a good case. High-school girls invent a life-preserver T-shirt for toddlers Reported by John Roach, NBC News An all-girl team of high-schoolers in Arizona will receive up to $10,000 to develop their invention of a T-shirt that doubles as a life preserver for toddlers. An all-girl team of high school students has invented a comfy and cozy T-shirt equipped with a mechanism that automatically inflates it into a life preserver when it gets soaking wet. Called the Watawescue, the T-shirt is intended for children age 2 to 4 to wear while they are playing near a swimming pool. "If the child falls in the water in an accident, the mechanism will go off and the inflatable bladder will inflate below the arms," Briana "BB" Soto, a senior at the Girls Leadership Academy of Arizona, told NBC News. Soto and her team at GLAAZ are among 16 teams selected for the 2012-2013 InvenTeams Program, a Lemelson-MIT initiative to get high-school students excited about invention and careers in math and science. The girls will receive up to $10,000 to develop their T-shirt – and they'll get advice from industry and academic mentors in their community. Each of the other 15 teams will win similar support for their bright ideas. The GLAAZ team came up with the Watawescue concept after looking at the needs of their community. In the first six months of 2012, Soto noted, there were 46 drowning deaths in Arizona. Fifteen of the victims were children. "It was a great opportunity for us to invent something that will actually help," she said. More women in science Three of the 16 InvenTeams selected this year are from all-girl schools, an intentional push to encourage more women to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math, a broad scope known as STEM. Women currently hold less than 25 percent of STEM-related jobs and hold a correspondingly low share of STEM undergraduate degrees, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. "The gender gap within STEM fields can be attributed, in part, to the need for more role models in related careers," Joshua Schuler, executive director of the Lemelsom-MIT Program, said in a news release announcing this year's teams. The Girls Leadership Academy of Arizona is the state's first and only public single-gender school in the state. It serves predominantly low-income students: 81 percent come from families at or below the federal poverty level. Participation in InvenTeams is "an opportunity for us to demystify science for our girls," Yvonne Watterson, the school's head, told NBC News. As an all-girls school, she added, faculty can offer specific support to help women succeed in STEM fields. "They would not be able to get that anywhere else because the cost of a private, single-gender education is cost prohibitive," she said. In June 2013, the teams will showcase their projects at MIT. To learn more, visit the Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams website. John |
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Subject: RE: Almost Over - Finding Ada Day-Women-Science,etc From: GUEST Date: 18 Oct 12 - 07:12 AM Thank you, gentlemen. You've given me some interesting reading for a while. |
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