Today is a day to honor and recognize the amazing women engineers, scientists, and mathematicians who achieved success in their fields when women were not encouraged to do so. These pioneers persevered and achieved some remarkable accomplishments in the scientific and mathematical community. They continue to inspire girls and young women today by opening the doors for careers in science and engineering.
Here are three books that highlight some of these remarkable women of STEM.
Born in China in the early 1900s when girls weren’t routinely educated and women weren’t welcomed in science, Wu Chien Shiung was not a likely candidate to become a world-renowned physicist. But because of her supportive parents and her own determination, she pursued her passion for physics first in her homeland and then in the United States where she received her Ph.D. Fighting both racism and sexism through her career in the U.S., she still managed to do top-notch research, helping several other physicists win Nobel Prizes. She, herself, won the prestigious Wolf Prize, the Israeli equivalent to the Nobel. During her lifetime, she helped many girls go into STEM.
QUEEN OF PHYSICS is written by Teresa Robeson.
Teresa Robeson 何顥思
Winner of APALA Award, co-Regional Advisor: IN-SCBWI
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CODE BREAKER, SPY HUNTER by Laurie Wallmark Elizebeth Friedman is different than most of the other women in STEM I’ve written about. Unlike them, she didn’t tinker with inventions as a child. She didn’t even especially like math and science. She was more interested in studying English and foreign languages. So how did Elizebeth’s codebreaking skills help change the course of two world wars? Well, it turns out Elizebeth was exceptionally good at recognizing patterns. That, combined with her linguistic ability, gave her an almost superhuman ability to crack codes.
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COUNTING ON KATHERINE: HOW KATHERINE JOHNSON SAVED APOLLO 13 by Helaine Becker.
The bold story of Katherine Johnson, an African-American mathematician who worked for NASA during the space race and was depicted in the film Hidden Figures.
You’ve likely heard of the historic Apollo 13 moon landing. But do you know about the mathematical genius who made sure that Apollo 13 returned safely home?
As a child, Katherine Johnson loved to count. She counted the steps on the road, the number of dishes and spoons she washed in the kitchen sink, everything! Boundless, curious, and excited by calculations, young Katherine longed to know as much as she could about math, about the universe.
From Katherine’s early beginnings as a gifted student to her heroic accomplishments as a prominent mathematician at NASA, Counting on Katherine is the story of a groundbreaking American woman who not only calculated the course of moon landings but, in turn, saved lives and made enormous contributions to history.
| Helaine Becker is the author of more than 70 award-winning books for children including You Can Read, Worms for Breakfast: How to Feed a Zoo, Monster Science and Counting on Katherine. She loves science, books and ice cream, but not necessarily in that order. |
Darlene Beck-Jacobson 