In 2007, the Anita Borg Institute touched the lives of nearly 6,000 women and men through its programs. Although 2008 is well under way and we are working on broadening our reach even more this year, here’s a last look at 2007.
On the plane in December, I flipped through Time Magazine’s “Best Inventions of 2007″ and did a bit of digging to see which inventions were led by women. Here are those I found on the list (where I could find information on the inventor of project lead).
- The Bio-Suit was created by MIT aeronautics professor Dava Newman, whose research interests include optimizing austronaut body mechanics. Her and her team’s invention, the Bio-Suit, improves mobility through its fitted design which applies pressure to the skin, and involved embedded wereable technology. The MIT team is still working on developing and commercializing the technology.
- NASA is working on a methane fueled rocket and successfully tested a prototype in 2007, led by Terri Tramel, Project Manager at the Marshall Space Flight Center. She and her team will continue working on what could be the ultimate solution for the refueling challenges posed by deep space missions.
- The $150 Laptop of One Laptop per Child has generated a lot of interest in 2007. The founding CTO of OLPC is Mary Lou Jepsen - she is responsible for inventing the laptop’s innovative sunlight-readable display technology and she co-invented its power management system. Jepsen will be a keynote speaker at our 2008 Grace Hopper Conference.
- Dr. Laura van’t Veer is co-founder of Duth company Agendia and its Chief Research Officer. She co-invented inventing the company’s Mamma-Print technology, which decodes the genetic DNA of breast cancer tumors, enabling breast cancer patients and doctors to better predict the evolution of the disease and choose the best course of treatment.
In 2008, we will continue celebrating women’s accomplishments in science and technology, developing the next generation of technical leaders, and changing the culture of technology.