Celebrating Women's History

These women have changed the world with their inventions.

Beatrice Hicks Portrait by SWE National Records, Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State UniversityNational Inventors Hall of Fame Museum

Beatrice Hicks

2017 National Inventors Hall of Fame Inductee

Hicks Patent DrawingNational Inventors Hall of Fame Museum

Device for Sensing Gas Density
Patent No. 3,046,369

Beatrice Hicks' gas density sensor was a critical breakthrough to enabling space travel and a key component on Saturn V rockets that launched the Apollo moon missions.

"The saying 'The world is yours to conquer' is no longer true. Yours is the universe."

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Hicks Museum Display by National Inventors Hall of FameNational Inventors Hall of Fame Museum

Yvonne Brill PortraitNational Inventors Hall of Fame Museum

Yvonne Brill

2010 National Inventors Hall of Fame Inductee 

Brill Patent DrawingNational Inventors Hall of Fame Museum

Electrothermal Hydrazine Resistojet
Patent No. 3,807,657

Yvonne Brill's advancements in rocket propulsion systems keep geosynchronous communications satellites on orbit and have been an industry standard since 1983.

"The Society of Women Engineers has made me aware of who we are and what we can do."

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Brill Museum Display by National Inventors Hall of FameNational Inventors Hall of Fame Museum

Mildred Dresselhaus PortraitNational Inventors Hall of Fame Museum

Mildred Dresselhaus

2014 National Inventors Hall of Fame Inductee

Dresselhaus Patent DrawingNational Inventors Hall of Fame Museum

Superlattice Structures for Thermoelectric Devices
Patent No. 7,465,871

Mildred Dresselhaus was an expert on all forms of carbon and her work laid the foundation for today's lithium-ion batteries. These stable and long-lasting batteries have countless uses including powering your cell phone and supplying emergency backup power for medical equipment.

"What helped me is that historically, from my very early years, my inspiration almost always came from women."

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Dresselhaus Museum Display by National Inventors Hall of FameNational Inventors Hall of Fame Museum

Frances Arnold PortraitNational Inventors Hall of Fame Museum

Frances Arnold

2014 National Inventors Hall of Fame Inductee

Arnold Patent DrawingNational Inventors Hall of Fame Museum

Directed Evolution of Enzymes
Patent No. 6,153,410

Frances Arnold's pioneering research in directed evolution, a process for "breeding" scientifically interesting or technologically useful proteins, has practical applications in the pharmaceutical, chemical and biofuel industries.

"My gratitude goes out to my friends, and then to the truly pioneering women who broke the ground for the rest of us. All of us build on each other's successes, and we make wonderful connections in the process."

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Arnold Museum Display by National Inventors Hall of FameNational Inventors Hall of Fame Museum

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