NOBEL PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY
The Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded to Israel's Ada Yonath---the first woman to receive it since 1964---and Americans Venkatraman Ramakrishnan and Thomas Steitz for creating detailed blueprints of ribosomes, the protein-making machinery within cells,, research that's being used to develop new antibiotics.
NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE
The Nobel Prize in literature was be awarded to Germany's Herta Mueller, a Romanian-born writer honored for work that "with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose, depicts the landscape of the dispossessed."Into the Light
Until the middle of the 20th Century, to “Woman Up” in the sciences, mathematics, literature and art often was more akin to “Woman Disappear.”
For hundreds of years, women had to conceal their identities to ensure that their work would be accepted by the public and peers without censure due to gender prejudice. For hundreds of years, astoundingly intelligent and creative women “disappeared” through anonymous contributions, the use of pseudonyms, or by ceding credit to a man.
Perhaps from one perspective, however, these scientists and artists actually did “Woman Up” in its purest sense, for many embraced their accomplishments with private pride without the need for adulation or (today’s necessity) “ego gratification.”
Ada Augusta, Countess of Lovelace
One such historic figure was Ada Augusta, Countess of Lovelace, whose recognition as “the world’s first computer programmer” did not come until 1952, some 100 years after her death in 1852 at the age of 36.
Her profile could serve as a template for other scientists, artists and writers throughout the world who struggled until the mid-20th century for greater gender equality in their fields. Read more about Lady Lovelace and her lifelong fight to be an “Analyst and Metaphysician,” a term she invented for herself in a letter when she was 8 years old.Read more
Admiral Grace Murray Hopper
While the Countess of Lovelace had to practice her mathematical mathematics and computer brilliance in obscurity, the genius and visionary work of Admiral Grace Murray Hopper could not be ignored as she blazed a trail for women in science during her lifetime that spanned the 20th Century. Read more about Admiral Hopper’s steadfastness to her goals and service to the nation and the world.Read More
Alice Munro, Author
Alice Munro earned tribute for her contributions to the literary world when she was named the 2009 recipient of the third Man Booker International Prize.
In a ceremony at Trinity College in Dublin in June, the judging panel for the award, given every two years, noted: “Alice Munro is mostly known as a short story writer and yet she brings as much depth, wisdom and precision to every story as most novelists bring to a lifetime of novels. To read Alice Munro is to learn something every time that you never thought of before. "
Read more on Alice Munro and “the Truth” she seeks to bring to her stories.Read More
The beauty and sway of the arts and literature . . .
...the power and impact of the sciences and technology . . .
Today's influence of women within these spheres – the determination to Woman Up! for their passions -- is staggering. Particularly in the sciences any lingering questions on innate abilities seem almost absurd (to the extent that Lawrence Summer’s tenure as Harvard’s president probably ended because of his comment on women’s scientific tendencies.)
And now, newly released data published in The New York Times confirm the advancing parity in math and engineering positions at universities and in academic accomplishments in secondary schools.
Perspectives on the life and work of Georgia O’Keeffe (1887 – 1986) are uniquely individual, for her approach to her art, her relationships and sense of place did not follow popular convention. Her education, talent and persona merged early in her life, however, so that by the time she was 35 years old, she had become known as one of America's most important artists, and received credit for influencing not only American but European art.
In 1946 New York City’s Museum of Modern Art honored her with its first retrospective of a woman artist, and in 1977 she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and remains the only woman artist to earn the nation’s highest civilian honor.
Images by and thoughts about Georgia O’Keeffe are beautifully presented at Ellen's Place.
Ruth Padel ---Oxford Poetry Professorship Tainted
By “Dirty Trick” Allegations
Even though Ruth Padel was elected Oxford University’s first female Professor of Poetry – following 300 years of the Chair’s being occupied by men -- this Brief does not have an exemplary Woman Up resolution.
Only nine days after her election, Prof. Padel resigned her post, bowing to intense criticism when it came to light that she had engaged in a smear campaign against Nobel Laureate Derek Wolcott, her nearest rival.
Follow the story here. and at The Guardian Books section
Also read a dissenting opinion about her resignation.
2009 L’Oreal-UNESCO Women in Science Awards
Five women scientists have been awarded the 2009 L’Oreal-UNESCO Women in Science prize. These remarkable researchers from regions around the globe have contributed to breakthroughs in the biological and physical sciences :
Prof. Tebello Nyokong, pictured above, represents the Africa & the Arab States;
Akiko Kobayashi is from the Asia-Pacific region;
Eugenia Kumacheva from North America;
Athene M. Donald from Europe; and,
Beatriz Barbuy represents Latin America.
Read about their extraordinary work and their personal stories
Celebrating
“Amazing Grace”
Admiral Hopper continues to be honored – and continues to inspire – through the annual “Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing Conference,” which is sponsored by The Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology.
The 2009 Grace Hopper Conference will be held in Tucson, Ariz., September 30 through October 2. The Anita Borg Institute was founded in 1997 by renowned computer scientist Anita Borg, Ph.D., who initially named the organization The Institute for Women in Technology. After her death in 2003, the organization memorialized her unparalleled contributions by renaming the Institute in her honor.
Dr. Borg and Dr. Telle Whitney held the first Grace Hopper Celebration in 1994, with the goal to promote the successes of technical women in computing and to provide educational and mentoring opportunities. The Celebration is now the world’s largest gathering of technical women in computing. .
Visit The Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology site for more information about this year’s meeting and for details about the remarkable work performed by the Institute on behalf of women in technology and the computer sciences.
At the Intersection of Arts and Sciences:
Eudora Welty and Hedy Lamarr
Hedy Lamarr, film actress, and Eudora Welty, American author, share unlikely legacies through their enduring contributions – intentional and by chance – to the high tech world.
The next time you’re reminded before a movie to “Please, turn off your cell phones,” reflect on the irony that the original patent that led to cellular phone technology came from the exquisite intelligence of “The Most Beautiful Woman in Films,” Hedy Lamarr.
Born as Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler in Austria, Ms. Lamarr arrived at Hollywood in 1939 and instantly became noted for her “glamorous and seductive” rolls.
She had absorbed engineering knowledge from her first husband, however, and designed a “Secret Communications System” using a “frequency-hopping” concept based on player piano rolls.
Using her married name H.K. Markey, she and her co-inventor George Antheil received U.S. Patent #2,292,387 in 1942 for their invention.
Their scheme was used in military and civilian communications, and eventually their “spread-spectrum” insights blazed the path to cellular communications that started in the 1980s. The patent had long expired, however, and the inventors never received compensation. It wasn’t until 1997, three years before her death at the age of 86, that Ms. Lamarr was connected with the original patent.
Close-up of U.S. Patent # 2,292,387
While she was modest about her intelligence, she had a firm answer about how other women could match her screen persona: “Any girl can be glamorous. All you have to do is stand still and look stupid.”
A Program Called "Eudora"
Eudora Welty, whose writing desk is pictured above, died in 2001, but her voice remains alive through her extensive bibliography of fiction and autobiographical works that have enlightened and delighted generations of readers.
Her name also lives on through a software program developed by Steve Dorner in 1988 that revolutionized the sending and receiving of e-mail. He named the program “Eudora” in honor of Ms. Welty and one of her famous short stories, “Why I Live at the P.O.”
He described the moment: "When it came time . . . to name the program, I remembered the title, rearranged it a bit to 'Bringing the P.O. to where you live,' and used it for the program's motto. Then I named it Eudora."