Women's History Month-Notable Women of Color in STEM

While women of color in STEM careers have always faced difficulties, they have persisted to overcome inherent biases based on sexism and racism. Here are short biographies of a few women of color who have contributed to the success of STEM:

• Susan La Flesche was the first Native American woman to earn a medical degree. She attended what is now known as Hampton University before attending and graduating as valedictorian from the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1889. She became a physician and devoted her life to providing medical care to the Omaha tribe.

• Dr. Ellen Ochoa was the first Latina astronaut to explore outer space. She earned her PhD in electrical engineering and began the three-year process of becoming a NASA astronaut. Her first trip to space took place on the Discovery in 1993, and she has since been to outer space three more times. She has conducted research regarding the ozone layer and is also an inventor.

• Dr. Antonia Novello was the first woman and first Latina to hold the position of surgeon general of the U.S. Dr. Novello earned her Doctorate of Medicine at the University of Puerto Rico before serving as surgeon general from 1990 to 1993. Afterward, she was the commissioner of health for New York state and worked as the medical authority for several important organizations.

• Mary G. Ross was the first Native American female aerospace engineer. She worked in Lockheed’s Advanced Development Program and assisted in developing the plans for missions flying by Venus and Mars. She was originally hired as a mathematician in 1942 but ended up training to become the only female engineer.

• In 2015 Tu Youyou became the first woman from the People’s Republic of China to receive the Nobel Prize. She and two other scientists shared the Nobel in physiology or medicine for their groundbreaking work discovering artemisinin and dihydroartemisinin, the drugs that treat malaria. She currently works as a pharmaceutical chemist.