CRN honors the pioneering people who have influenced the modern-day tech environment. From AI and sky computing to cybersecurity, their inventions power the stream habitat and above. The basis of our present and future is not just the past; it’s also the past. Recognizing their efforts helps us understand where we stand and where we’re headed.
This glow a mild on the pioneering people who have laid the groundwork of modern technology, just as we celebrate and move deeper into Women’s History Month.
From AI and cloud computing to security, these inventors and leaders—past and present—have driven breakthroughs that power the stream habitat and above.
Below are 15 girls you ought to know whose efforts will continue to influence the development of technology.
Security Officials
Joan Clarke ( 1917–1996 )
Cryptanalyst whose labor at Bletchley Park during World War II played a vital role in breaking the German Enigma code—yet her efforts were usually overshadowed. Despite receiving a twice first in mathematics at Cambridge, school regulations at the time prevented her from receiving a full degree. She became the only person working on Banburismus, an innovative cryptanalytic approach pioneered by Alan Turing. Although she was denied similar give or recognition due to gender prejudices, her sharp intellect earned her a campaign as deputy head of Hut 8. After the war, she became a recognized numismatist, specializing in mediaeval British coin, and was awarded the Sanford Saltus Gold Medal for her studies. In recent years, Clarke’s tradition has gained wider recognition, especially after Keira Knightley’s description of her in” The Imitation Game,” thanks to her honor as an MBE in 1946.
Mary Ann Davidson
A renowned authority on security, she is the CEO of Oracle, where she oversees the company’s safe development cycle for all products and services. A recognized expert in the field, she represents Oracle on the board of the Information Technology Information Sharing and Analysis Center and sits on the international board of the Information Systems Security Association ( ISSA ), where she has been inducted into their hall of fame. Her expertise has influenced regional plan; she served as a member of the 44th Presidency’s CSIS Commission on Cybersecurity and gave testimony before numerous U.S. House and Senate committees on cybersecurity issues. With a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from the University of Virginia and an MBA from Wharton, she also has a military history, earning the Navy Achievement Medal during her company as a commissioned officer in the U. S. Navy Civil Engineer Corps. 
Keren Elazari ( b. 1982 )
Jewish cybersecurity researcher, speaker, and expert on the subject of moral hacking and cyber defense who has established a name for herself in the field. Inspired by the 1995 picture” Hackers”, she pursued a career in security, serving as an intelligence officer in the Israel Defense Forces for a decade before earning degrees in security research and philosophy of science from Tel Aviv University. She is a senior researcher at the Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center, and she also serves as an industry analyst and security consultant, advising businesses on modern resilience and cyber threats. In 2014, she became the first Jewish woman to deliver a TED Chat, where she reframed hackers as the internet’s immune system, advocating for their role in strengthening security.
( 1935–2007 ) Karen Spärck Jones
A pioneer British computer scientist whose labor laid the foundation for modern search engines. She was born in Huddersfield, England, and began her studies at Cambridge in history and philosophy before moving on to computer knowledge, with an emphasis on data recovery and natural language processing. Her groundbreaking introduction of inverse document frequency ( IDF) in 1972 revolutionized how search engines rank the relevance of documents, making her a key figure in the development of technologies we rely on today.
Katie Moussouris ( b. 1979 )
Pioneer and entrepreneur in the field of cybersecurity, best known for developing bug bounty initiatives and supporting social security research. A former penetration tester, she built Symantec’s Vulnerability Research program before joining Microsoft, where she launched its first bug bounty initiative and the Microsoft Vulnerability Research ( MSVR ) program. She eventually contributed to the creation of the first national bug bounty program known as the” Hack the Pentagon,” which was funded by the U.S. Department of Defense. In 2016, she founded Luta Security, advising companies on risk disclosure and thief engagement. She has testified before the United States Congress and worked as a Cybersecurity Fellow at New America, among other things. Recognized as one of Forbes ‘ Top 50 Women in Tech ( 2018 ), Moussouris continues to push for more inclusive, responsible security practices worldwide.
IT Innovators and Cloud Computing
Nandini Ramani
a market leader in cloud computing, safety, and business infrastructure with a proven track record. As the former vice president of executive at Twitter, she oversaw designer facilities and resources for Twitter’s engineering teams. She previously held the position of VP at Oracle, where she held complete control over the Java platform and Internet of Things ( IoT ). Now Ramani is crucial to Amazon Web Services, driving advancements in fog protection, AI integration, and business IT infrastructure.
Monica S. Lam ( b. 1957 )
A pioneering computer professor whose research has affected operating systems, software analysis, virtual assistants, and AI-driven virtual assistants. A Stanford professor and National Academy of Engineering part, she led the development of the Stanford SUIF Compiler, influencing contemporary processor improvements and parallel processing. Her first contributions to high-performance computing architectures, such as the Stanford DASH and the CMU Warp device, are also included. In 1998, she co-founded Tensilica Inc., a company specializing in customizable computer components. She has just worked on privacy-first AI, founding the Stanford Open Virtual Assistant Lab, and creating Almond, an open-source words assistant designed to safeguard user privacy. With a profession spanning software, technology, and AI, Lam’s advances continue to drive the future of technology and safety.
Padmasree Warrior ( b. 1961 )
A superpower in the technology sector known for leading development, strategy, and engineering at some of the biggest companies in the world. Warrior spent 23 years at Motorola, rising to chief technology officer ( CTO ) and helping the company earn the National Medal of Technology. Before becoming CEO of NIO U.S., where she helped spearhead the electric car trend, she then assumed the CTO position at Cisco and was instrumental in shaping the company’s strategy for fog, AI, and cybersecurity. In 2019, she founded Fable, a program designed to promote mental heath through tailored reading. Warrior has been included in Forbes ‘ Most Strong Women and America’s Top 50 Ladies in Tech names and has been constantly regarded as a top woman in technology. She also serves on the boards of Microsoft and Spotify, influencing the future of business systems and electronic media.
Diane Greene ( b. 1955 )
Diane Greene is best known for co-founding VMware in 1998 and altering x86 cloud, which altered how firms managed their processing facilities. As VMware’s CEO until 2008, she led the company’s fast growth, setting the stage for modern cloud computing. She co-founded Bebop, an organization sky company that was later acquired by Google, where she served as CEO of Google Cloud from 2015 to 2018, enabling significant growth in its business cloud services. With a background in electrical engineering, marine architecture, and computer technology, Greene’s experience spans software, facilities, and business strategy. She continues to influence the economy as a board member for SAP, Stripe, Wix, and Maersk, influencing the development of electronic innovation and enterprise systems.
Ann Hardy
Ann Hardy, a pioneering computer programming and entrepreneur, contributed to the development of modern computing through her contributions to time-sharing systems and first computing networks. Starting at IBM in the 1950s, she contributed to the Programming compiler for the 7030 Stretch computer before joining Lawrence Radiation Laboratory to advance processor development. She founded some of the first time-sharing systems, making computing more accessible and effective for businesses and government agencies, at Tymshare, where she played a pivotal role in building some of the first role-sharing techniques. As Tymshare’s first female vice president, she broke barriers in an industry that typically underestimated children’s technical skills. She launched KeyLogic, a time-sharing hardware and software company after Tymshare’s acquisition, and after co-founded Agorics, a company focused on web-based market applications. Hardy’s profession was defined by development, endurance, and a refusal to allow female biases limit her impact.
AI is a pioneer
Dorothy Vaughan ( 1910–2008 )
A mathematician and scientist at NASA, she is best known for being the first African American woman to hold a position there. Her command of the West Area Computing Unit, as outlined in Hidden Figures, helped pave the way for future generations of Black people in STEM. Dorothy Jean Johnson was born Dorothy Jean Johnson on September 20, 1910, and she first worked as a math teacher in Virginia before receiving a mathematics education from Wilberforce University in 1929. In 1943, she joined the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics ( NACA ) —which later became NASA—where she specialized in early machine computing and played a key role in transitioning from human computers to electronic computing systems. Her job with the IBM 7090 mainframe, which is essential to NASA’s space missions, and her experience in Programming programming established her position as a pioneer in mathematical mathematics and aerospace technology.
Fei-Fei Li ( b. 6 )
A leading force in AI, best known for her groundbreaking work in computer vision and serious studying. She immigrated to the United States as a girl after growing up in Beijing and earning both a science degree and a PhD. D. in electronic engineering from Caltech. She is the inventor of ImageNet, a sizable data that revolutionized AI’s ability to recognize and classify images, thereby accelerating the development of strong learning. A Stanford professor, she co-directs the Stanford Human-Centered AI Institute and previously led Stanford’s AI Lab ( SAIL ). She took a journey to work for Google Cloud as the VP and Chief Scientist of AI/ML from 2017 to 2018 and advocate for the reform of AI. Beyond study, she’s a fighter for variety in tech, co-founding AI4ALL to provide more represented tones into AI. With the election of Li to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering, Li’s influence on AI goes beyond simply academic. It will shape how we interact with brilliant systems in the future.
Joy Buolamwini ( b. )
Computer scientist and digital activist, renowned for her work in uncovering biases in artificial intelligence ( AI ). She was a researcher at the MIT Media Lab when she learned that several cosmetic recognition systems struggled to effectively recognize darker-skinned people, especially women. This revelation led her to establish the Algorithmic Justice League ( AJL), an organization dedicated to highlighting and mitigating biases in decision-making software. Through AJL, Buolamwini combines skill, campaigning, and study to address the social repercussions of AI while pursuing more just and guilty systems. Her pioneering work has not only spurred tech companies like IBM and Microsoft to enhance their algorithms but also inspired the video” Coded Bias”, which delves into the ethical issues surrounding AI and its effects on marginalized communities. In addition to chronicling her journey and highlighting the need for inclusive and ethical AI development, she published” Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What Is Human in a World of Machines” in 2023.
Cynthia Dwork ( b. )
Renowned computer scientist whose work has significantly advanced the fields of cryptography, distributed computing, and algorithmic fairness. She is most well known for co-inventing differential privacy, a framework that enables data analysis while protecting individual privacy, and for introducing the concept of proof-of-work, a fundamental mechanism in blockchain technologies. Dwork’s career spans roles at IBM Research, Microsoft Research, and currently, she holds esteemed positions at Harvard University, including the Gordon McKay professor of computer science and affiliations with the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard Law School, and the Department of Statistics. Her ground-breaking contributions have been recognized with numerous awards, including the Gödel Prize, the Knuth Prize, and the National Medal of Science, underscoring her significant influence on computer science and data privacy.
Tara Sainath
A leader in deep learning and speech recognition, helping to advance AI-powered voice assistants like Google Assistant. With a Ph. Her research, which includes a PhD in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, has examined how machines process human speech and explored the issues of noise-robust speech recognition and acoustic landmark detection. After working at IBM Research, she joined Google, where she’s now a principal research scientist, pushing the boundaries of automatic speech recognition ( ASR ) and AI-driven voice technology. Her contributions to both the IEEE and the International Speech Communication Association have earned her fellowships, cementing her position as a key figure in AI-driven communication.
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