Women are often under-represented in the academic and professional fields of engineering;however,many women have contributed to the diverse fields of engineering historically and currently. A number of organizations and programs have been created to understand and overcome this tradition of gender disparity. Some have decried this gender gap,saying that it indicates the absence of potential talent. Though the gender gap as a whole is narrowing,there is still a growing gap with minority women compared to their white counterparts. Gender stereotypes,low rates of female engineering students,and engineering culture are factors that contribute to the current situation where men dominate in fields relating to engineering sciences.
African-American women in computer science were among early pioneers in computing in the United States,and there are notable African-American women working in computer science.
Emily Dawn Calandrelli is an American science communicator,former MIT engineer,and the host and an executive producer of Xploration Outer Space and Emily's Wonder Lab.
Margaret Katherine "Kathy" Banks is an American academic,engineer,and was the 26th president of Texas A&M University from 2021 to 2023,only the second woman to hold that position out of 41 total presidents at the time,including her interim successor.
Adrienne Stiff-Roberts is an American electrical engineering and Jeffrey N. Vinik Professor of Electrical and computer engineering at Duke University. Her research is on novel hybrid materials for optoelectronic and energy devices.
Lily McNair is an American academic administrator who served as the president of Tuskegee University,a historically black university in Tuskegee,Alabama,from 2018 to 2020.
Chekesha M. Liddell Watson is an Associate Professor of Material Science and Engineering at Cornell University. She researches colloidal materials,and the relationship between micron and submicron length scales.
Rhonda Franklin is a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Minnesota. She is a microwave and radio frequency engineer whose research focuses on microelectronic mechanical structures in radio and microwave applications. She has won several awards,including the 1998 NSF Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers,the 2013 Sara Evans Leadership Award,the 2017 John Tate Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Advising,and the 2018 Minnesota African American Heritage Calendar Award for her contributions to higher education.
Brandeis Marshall is an American data scientist,CEO of DataedX,and Full Professor of Computer Science at Spelman College,where she is the former Chair of the Department of Computer and Information Sciences. Starting in September 2019,Marshall is a faculty associate at Berkman Klein Center for Internet &Society at Harvard University. She has also worked to broaden participation in the field of data science to increase representation of underrepresented minorities,including her effort 'Black Women in Data'.
Malika Jeffries-EL is an American chemist and professor of chemistry at Boston University studying organic semiconductors. Specifically,her research focuses on developing organic semiconductors that take advantage of the processing power of polymers and the electronic properties of semiconductors to create innovative electronic devices. She was elected as a Fellow of the American Chemical Society in 2018.
Nina Matheny Roscher (1938—2001) was an American chemist and advocate for women and minorities in science. She also researched the history of women in chemistry,publishing the book Women Chemists (1995). She served as professor and chair of the chemistry department at American University in Washington,D.C. She received the ACS Award for Encouraging Women into Careers in the Chemical Sciences (1996) and the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science,Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (1998).
Debbie Chachra is a materials scientist and a professor at Olin College. She specialises in biological materials and infrastructure. She is interested in innovations in engineering education and was one of the founding members of the materials faculty at Olin.
Talitha Washington is an American mathematician and academic who specializes in applied mathematics and STEM education policy. She was recognized by Mathematically Gifted &Black as a Black History Month 2018 Honoree. Washington became the 26th president of the Association for Women in Mathematics in 2023.
Leslie Ann Kolodziejski is an American professor of electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She works on fabricating novel photonic devices after synthesizing the constituent material via molecular-beam epitaxy. She is a recipient of the Presidential Young Investigator Award from the National Science Foundation and is a fellow of The Optical Society.
Suresh Garimella is an Indian American mechanical engineer and university administrator. He is the current and 27th president of the University of Vermont. Before assuming the presidency in 2019,Garimella served as Executive Vice President for Research and Partnerships at the Purdue University College of Engineering at Purdue University.
Christine Sharon Grant is an American chemical engineer who is the Associate Dean of Faculty Advancement at North Carolina State University. Her research considers surface and environmental science. She is the 2022 President of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
Jennifer Lynn Sinclair Curtis is an American engineer. She was the Dean of the University of California,Davis' College of Engineering from 2015 until 2020 and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science,American Institute of Chemical Engineers,American Society for Engineering Education,and American Physical Society.
Pamela A. Abshire is an American engineer. She was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in 2018 for her contributions to CMOS biosensors.
Carolyn Cummings Perrucci (née Cummings) is an American sociologist specializing in gender roles,family,and education,who is currently a professor of sociology at Purdue University. She joined the Purdue University College of Liberal Arts department of sociology in 1966. Perrucci headed the women's studies program from 1980 to 1981 and has published several books on the career patterns of women in STEM fields.
Pavlos P. Vlachos is a Greek-American engineer,scientist,academic,and entrepreneur. He is professor in Purdue’s School of Mechanical Engineering and in the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering,and the St. Vincent Health Professor of Healthcare Engineering. He serves as the Director for the Purdue Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering (RCHE).
