Today we’re celebrating Ada Lovelace Day by introducing you to the Countess of Lovelace and the woman who may have been the first computer programmer.

Dr. Carolyn Bertozzi is credited with developing the field of biorthogonal chemistry.

On October 9th, 2007 gamers were introduced to a test subject named Chell and the sardonic robot GLaDOS.  The puzzle game Portal was a surprise hit, and it’s development was led by game designer Kim Swift.  Cake will be available at the conclusion of this podcast.

Near the end of her career Dr. Mary Engle Pennington founded the Household Refrigeration Bureau in 1923 to educate consumers in safe practices in domestic refrigeration which she had earlier shown as an integral part of food safety.

Dr. Amy Paller holds board certifications in dermatology, pediatric dermatology, and pediatrics.  She is the chair of the Department of Dermatology at Northwestern University and the director of the Northwestern University Skin Disease Research Center.

Dr. Salome Gluecksohn-Waelsch is considered the founder of mammalian developmental genetics and was awarded the U.S. National Medal of Science.

Dr. Janice Brunstrom-Hernandez is an outspoken advocate for individuals with cerebral palsy and in 2015 opened 1CP Place, a practice dedicated to helping patients live their very best, healthiest lives both now and in the future.

When she was appointed associate dean and head of the Cancer Chemotherapy Department at New York Medical College in 1967, Dr. Jane Wright was the highest ranking African-American woman in a U.S. medical institution.

Dr. Virginia Apgar studied medicine at Columbia, became a professor there focused on anesthesiology, and also created the Apgar Score for newborns.

Ann Dickson wanted to become an astronaut, and she passed all of the tests but was kept from space because of her gender.  So she became an aerospace engineer.