If you had to name an inventor, would it be a woman? Or did you first think of a man like Thomas Edison or Alexander Graham Bell? Women haven’t always had equal opportunities to be inventors, or received as much recognition. But women with diverse backgrounds and interests have always been essential to invention. Meet some of them in Picturing Women Inventors. For more like this, visit the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation.

Tara Astigarraga, a member of the Choctaw Nation, studied Spanish linguistics and communications in college, but an internship at IBM sparked a passion for software engineering. She has invented storage, networking, security, and blockchain solutions, and holds more than 75 patents. For her inventions and mentorship of Native Americans and women pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and math, she was named an IBM Master Inventor.

Enabling the blind to see was the greatest joy of Dr. Patricia Bath (1942–2019), eye surgeon, ophthalmology professor, inventor, and founder of the American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness. She was a trailblazer for women and African Americans in the medical profession. In 1981, she invented the Laserphaco, a tool for removing cataracts using a laser. Bath made cataract surgery faster, easier, more accurate, and less invasive.

As a child in Lebanon, Ayah Bdeir dissected her family’s electronics to understand how they worked. She earned an engineering degree and moved to the US to study at MIT. Wanting to “make engineering and inventing more fun,” she created littleBits. These color-coded, magnetic, electronic building blocks blur the line between a toy and a tool, so makers of all ages can explore art and engineering through invention. littleBits are part of MoMA’s permanent collection.

Cynthia Breazeal discovered robots in the 3rd grade. Inspired by Star Trek, she wrote a story about a Klingon robot that stole pies. Her robot showed human emotions, marking the beginning of her goal to invent social robots that interact with and learn from people. Beginning in the 1990s, she applied child development theory to her robots Kismet and Leonardo, giving them expressive faces and voices, encouraging natural communication between people and machines.

Theresa Dankovich invented inexpensive, reusable, sustainable water filters as a graduate student and co-founded Folia Water in 2016 to scale up production. Folia Filters are made of thick paper embedded with silver nanoparticles, which kill bacteria and viruses. Field tests in Africa, South Asia, and Central America ensured “designs that fit with the culture.” Dankovich has also applied her paper technology to antiviral face masks and microwave food packaging.

Marion O’Brien Donovan (1917–1998), a college-educated Connecticut homemaker, spent too many nights changing her baby’s soaked cloth diapers, clothing, and bedding. With a piece of a shower curtain, she prototyped a leak-proof diaper cover. Her experiment became the “Boater,” a reusable diaper cover that went on sale at Saks Fifth Avenue in 1949. She sold her rights to the Boater for $1 million in 1951 and went on to invent numerous products intended to make everyday tasks easier.

After a hang gliding accident in 1978, Marilyn Hamilton vowed to continue her athletic lifestyle. But her “stainless steel dinosaur” wheelchair was too heavy and slow. Inspired by hang glider materials, she and two friends invented a lightweight, responsive wheelchair and founded Motion Designs in 1979 to manufacture them; their Quickie wheelchairs are now sold by Sunrise Medical. Hamilton’s many athletic accomplishments include two women’s wheelchair tennis singles titles in the US Open.

Sophia Hayden was MIT’s first woman graduate in architecture. She designed the Woman’s Building for the Chicago 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, where a record number of inventions by women were displayed. But traditional ideas about women’s roles prevailed. Most of the women’s invention prizes were given to domestic technologies, and the press described Hayden’s building as “feminine” and “delicate.” The Museum of Science and Industry is the only Exposition building still standing.

When WWII began, Grace Murray Hopper was a PhD mathematician teaching at Vassar College. She joined the Navy in 1943 and became one of the first computer programmers, writing code for the Mark I electromechanical calculator at Harvard’s Cruft Laboratory. In 1952, she invented pioneering “compiler” software that translated the instructions of human programmers into computer code, making communication between people and computers more user-friendly.

Marjorie Stewart Joyner (1896–1994), the 1st African American graduate of Chicago’s Molar Beauty School, opened a salon in 1916. Trained by Madam C. J. Walker, pioneer of the modern Black hair care and cosmetics industry, Joyner became the national supervisor of 200+ Walker beauty schools. In 1928, Joyner patented a permanent waving machine with multiple curling irons, heated by electricity. She was a co-founder of the National Council of Negro Women and head of the Chicago Defender Charities.

Biomedical engineer Michelle Khine adapted her favorite childhood toy—Shrinky Dinks—into a low-cost device for diagnosing disease. She first created patterns on Shrinky Dinks sheets with a laser printer. When she baked the Shrinky Dinks, the ink left ridges that she used as a mold, creating channels to hold small amounts of bodily fluids, like blood or saliva, for testing. Khine’s inexpensive “labs on a chip” can make healthcare in developing countries more accessible and affordable.

Margaret Knight (1838–1914) worked in a factory making flat paper bags. She thought a bag that could stand on its own would be more practical, so she invented a machine that made square-bottom bags. When she applied for a patent, she found that a man who had seen her design had patented it in his name. She sued, and presented her notes, drawings, and models to refute the impostor’s claim that no woman could create such a complex machine. Knight received her patent and many more in her lifetime.

Chemist Stephanie Kwolek (1923–2014) joined DuPont in 1946—a time when few women worked in corporate labs. When she was tasked with researching extra strong polymers in 1964, Kwolek focused on liquid chemical solutions in which all the molecules line up end-to-end, like a string of pearls. Her experiments resulted in the invention of Kevlar, an incredibly strong, stiff, and lightweight synthetic fiber that has thousands of applications, from sporting equipment to protective gear.

Lisa Lindahl was one of millions who started jogging in the 1970s fitness boom. But running was painful because supportive sports bras didn’t exist. She teamed up with costume designers Polly Palmer Smith and Hinda Miller to change that. They deconstructed two men’s athletic supporters and sewed the pieces into a prototype sports bra they called Jogbra. Lindahl and Miller sold their invention through mail orders, expanded, and sold their successful company in 1990; it’s now part of Champion.

Madison Maxey has always loved making things—from clothing to stretchy inks that conduct electricity. She started sewing when she was eight years old and began her design career in the fashion industry. She now focuses on how technology and design can work together through innovations in electronic textiles (e-textiles). Maxey and her company, LOOMIA, create fabrics that act like circuit boards for innovative products ranging from medical wearables to heated ski gear.

Ellen Ochoa studied physics in college and played the flute in the marching band. She earned a PhD in electrical engineering, got a job at NASA, and dreamed of becoming an astronaut. When she flew aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery in 1993, she was the first Latina in space—and she took her flute with her. She went to space three more times, became the director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center, and invented devices that help scientists analyze images from space.

As a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) nurse for more than 25 years, Sharon Rogone understood the needs of premature babies. Standard infant medical supplies were impractical for her tiny patients, so Rogone began inventing specifically for preemies. One of her first products was a mask that protected babies’ eyes from the harsh lights used to treat jaundice. She started Small Beginnings in 1995 to market masks, diapers, pacifiers, and other necessities that she and other nurses invented.

Ida Kaganovich Rosenthal (1886–1973) was born in Russia and moved to the US in 1905. A skilled dressmaker, she partnered with Enid Bissett at Enid Frocks in New York City. Responding to the simple lines and loose fit of women’s fashions in the 1920s, Ida and Enid designed a bra that gave their high-end customers a more natural shape. The bras were a success and Ida, her husband William, and Enid founded what would become Maidenform, now based in Elizabeth, NJ, in 1922.

Charlotte Cramer Sachs (1907–2004) was born in Germany (her home is now part of Stanford University). She emigrated to the United States in 1924 and received her first patent in 1940 for a combination key and flashlight. As a single working mother in the 1940s, Sachs experienced firsthand the demands on the growing number of women who worked outside the home. Her line of Joy Products instant cake and muffin mixes helped save time and ease wartime food shortages.

Eleven-year-old Laura Shepherd started soap box derby racing in 1992 and built her “Lightning Laura” racer from an All-American Soap Box Derby authorized kit in 1993. She went on to win more than 20 races. In constructing her car and personalizing the basic components, Shepherd demonstrated some common traits among inventors—curiosity, persistence, imagination, problem solving, and a childhood passion for tinkering and building.

While visiting her grandmother in India, twelve-year-old Kavita Shukla accidentally drank contaminated water. Her grandmother brewed a spice tea for her so she wouldn’t get sick. Back at home, Shukla started an experiment to find out how that tea worked. When she embedded the spices in paper that could be placed with produce, fruits and vegetables stayed fresh longer, reducing food waste. She patented the idea for “FreshPaper” during her senior year of high school.

Born in Hungary, scientist Mária Telkes (1900–1995) immigrated to the United States in 1925. She was nicknamed the “Sun Queen” for her work on solar energy, inventing solar stoves and a solar-powered distiller to desalinate sea water. In the 1940s, she designed a solar-heated house. Photovoltaic panels were still experimental, so the house used bins of a chemical salt that melted when heated by sunlight. When the salt cooled, it slowly released the absorbed heat into the house.

Sarah Breedlove McWilliams Walker (1867–1919), known as Madam C. J. Walker, was an inventor, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Her parents were once enslaved, and she started life as a farm worker and laundress. But she became a pioneer of the African American hair care and cosmetics industry. To remedy her own hair loss, she invented a system of hair and scalp hygiene and treatment. Her company, incorporated in 1911, became a successful international business that made her a millionaire.

Cindy Whitehead turned pro in her teens and became a top-ranked skater. She is one of the only women ever to be featured riding vert in the centerfold of a skateboarding magazine. After retiring from competition, she reinvented herself as a sports stylist. In 2013, she created her brand of skateboards and apparel for girls and women, “Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word.” Proceeds from GN4LW support micro-grants and nonprofits that encourage girls in skateboarding.