Celebrating Women at MIT
Read below about some of MIT's accomplished women. Have a recommendation on another MIT woman we should feature? We'd love to hear it! Email us at mitsloanw4w@mit.edu
Images copyright of MIT
Read below about some of MIT's accomplished women. Have a recommendation on another MIT woman we should feature? We'd love to hear it! Email us at mitsloanw4w@mit.edu
Images copyright of MIT
First female faculty member to earn tenure at MIT. Established the Women's Forum, which convened faculty, staff, undergraduates and graduate students to discuss issues from women's health to career opportunities. Active advocate for female students, assisted them in navigating a predominantly male environment. Also instrumental in eliminating gender considerations from the Institute's admissions criteria and ensuring that female students, faculty and staff had an equal voice and role on MIT's campus.
Theoretical physicist. First African American woman to receive a PhD from MIT. First female and first African American Chair of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (1995-1999), appointed by President Bill Clinton. 18th president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and first African American woman to lead a top-ranked research university.
Shared in the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, received the National Medal of Science. Named by Time magazine as one of the most influential people in the world in 2008. Internationally recognized as a leader in atmospheric science, particularly for insights in explaining the cause of the Antarctic ozone "hole" and climate change research.
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Adjunct Professor of Negotiation and Conflict Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Coined the phrase "micro inequities". Research focuses on micro-affirmations, bystander influences.
Amgen Professor of Biology Emerita who has overturned assumptions and defied expectations at the lab bench and beyond. Her experiences in male-dominated fields and institutions led her to catalyze an investigation that evolved into the groundbreaking 1999 public report on the status of women at MIT.
T Wilson (1953) Professor of Management, Emerita at the MIT Sloan School of Management. 1997-99 Chair of the MIT faculty. 1995-97, she was the Matina S. Horner Distinguished Visiting Professor at Radcliffe's Public Policy Institute. Launch of work/life research, but dislikes the phrase work–life balance. "Work–life" implies that the two exist in separate spheres.
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Professor Emerita of Management at MIT Sloan School of Management. Labor economist who pioneered the study of sexual and racial discrimination in the workplace. In 1975, became first woman to get tenure at Sloan. Directed federal lawsuit against AT&T, then the largest private employer in the US. The suit led to a 1973 decision that the company had discriminated against women and minority men.
MIT Assistant Dean of Student Affairs. Established Alpha Kappa Alpha (1977, Lambda Upsilon Chapter) at MIT, a sorority for African American women and the first ever sorority at MIT. Believed a united support group was needed for Black women on predominantly White campuses.
Lecturer in 1980. Taught courses in essay writing, fiction writing, women's studies, and African American Literature. Pioneered a Black Women Writers Reading series and helped organize a Prominent Black Bostonians photography exhibit at the Boston Athenaeum.
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(Photo source: LinkedIn)
Morris Cohen Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, winner of 2018 J-WEL grant for "Advancing Socially-Directed STEM Education", 2010-2016 Dean of Graduate Education at MIT, Founder of Station 1 non-profit focusing on socially-directed science and technology
MIT Associate Professor of History, historian of Latin America, published author, Fellow at the Institute for Historical Studies at the University of Texas, the Woodrow Wilson Foundation, and the Ford Foundation. Previously tenured professor of History at Dartmouth College.
Associate Professor of Urban Planning and Public Health at MIT, Associate Department Head, 2013-2015 Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard Center for Population and Development, researches how various nvironmental conditions affect public health, developed Health Impact Assessment program at Harvard Center for Population and Development studies
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Architect, designer and educator. Founder of MY Studio, co-founder of H├weler + Yoon Architecture, LLP, Associate Professor with tenure in the Department of Architecture at MIT. Currently on leave serving as Dean of the College of Architecture, Art and Planning at Cornell University. Published several books and exhibited at notable museums, including the Smithsonian, MOMA, Guggenheim. Designed MIT's Memorial for Officer Sean P. Collier.
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Photo credit: Andy Ryan
Associate Dean of MIT School of Engineering, the Neil and Jane Pappalardo Professor of Mechanical Engineering, MacViar Faculty Fellow, founder of MIT Sports Lab, 2012 American Physical Society Fellow. Well regarded professor celebrated for her research accomplishments and distinguished approach to teaching
Professor of Neuroscience at MIT Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Director of the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT, Senior Associate Member of the Broad Institute, Co-Founder of the Aging Brain Initiative at MIT, Co-Director of the Alana Down Syndrome Center at MIT, recognized for contributions to Alzheimer's research
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Inventor of the compiler, which cemented her place at the forefront of the computing revolution that began in the early 1940s. Trained as a mathematician, her career spanned six decades. During this time, she remained simultaneously connected with several disciplines and industries, including academia, industry, and the U.S. military.
First woman appointed to the faculty of the MIT School of Engineering. Earned degrees in Aeronautics and Astronautics- BS in 1960, MS in 1961, and PhD in 1964 . First woman to serve as Chair of the Faculty at MIT. Appointed first woman Secretary of the Air Force by President Clinton. First woman to lead an entire military branch in the Department of Defense, co-chaired the Department of Defense Task Force on Sexual Harassment and Discrimination. Returned to faculty position at MIT where she was appointed Associate Provost.
First woman admitted to MIT (BS 1873). 1876, at her urging, the Woman's Education Association of Boston contributed funds for the opening of a Woman's Laboratory at MIT, she encouraged women to enter the sciences - courses in basic and industrial chemistry, biology, and mineralogy, some industrial and government consulting work obtained. Founder of what would become the American Association of University Women.
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Professor of Biomaterials Sciences and Engineering. Ran MIT's Biomaterials Science and Engineering Laboratory. Founding and principal investigator for the "Malaysia-MIT Biotechnology Partnership Program", a Malaysian national biotechnology program. First MIT Asian woman faculty member to receive tenure.
Professor Emerita of Urban Anthropology in Department of Urban Studies and Planning. Joined MIT faculty in 1963 with the goal of pushing anthropology into the arena of action and advocacy. One of the first female faculty members to gain tenure at MIT. Part of the group of students and faculty from MIT and Harvard that created Urban Planning Aid (UPA), the first advocacy planning firm in the US.
Joined MIT in 1960 as a research associate in the Department of Biology. Earned tenure and became an associate professor of biology in 1971, promoted to full professor in 1976. Her work is often cited as a model for studies of the regulation of enzyme synthesis.