12 August 2014

A Big Day for Women in Math and Science

On this day, in 1942, movie star Hedy Lamarr patented spread spectrum communications and frequency hopping, a technology that is the basis for modern WiFi and Bluetooth.


Today, exactly 72 years later, Iranian-born Maryam Mirzakhani became the first woman in history to win the Fields Medal - mathematics equivalent to the Nobel Prize. 

So, it only takes a half century or so, but women are eventually getting recognition for achievements in math and science without being talented enough to co-star with of the likes of Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy, Lana Turner and Judy Garland. Or, perhaps, Stanford's Mirzakhani simply hasn't yet taken the time to show that side of her talents.

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