The Google Doodle for August 9, 2018 commemorates the life and work of Mary G. Ross, the United States’s first Native American female engineer.
During her lifetime, Ross, who would’ve turned 110 on this day, contributed greatly to advancing knowledge concerning space travel, satellites and manned and unmanned orbital flights.
Here’s everything you need to know about who Mary G. Ross was and what a Google Doodle is.
Mary G. Ross was known for her groundbreaking work in science, engineering and technology
Who was Mary G. Ross?
Mary G. Ross was a pioneering engineer who contributed greatly to science, technology and engineering over the course of her influential career.
She was born in Park Hill, Oklahoma on August 9, 1908.
The great-great-granddaughter of Cherokee Nation Chief John Ross, she developed a keen interest in science, technology and aviation while growing up. After teaching in her native Oklahoma for nine years during the Great Depression, Ross later attended the University of Northern Colorado, then the Colorado State Teachers College, in 1938 to pursue a master’s degree, studying astronomy, mathematics and science intently while there.
After the outbreak of World War II, Ross was hired as a mathematician by the Lockheed Corporation in 1942. After the end of the ear, the company dispatched her to the University of California, Los Angeles in 1949 to obtain a professional certification in aeronautical engineering.
In 1952, Ross joined the Lockheed Corporation’s secret Skunk Works development team as one of its founding members. Her groundbreaking work included developing early design concepts for space travel and satellites like the Agena rocket.
The brilliant engineer later recalled her work, saying: ‘Often at night there were four of us working until 11pm. I was the pencil pusher, doing a lot of research. My state of the art tools were a slide rule and a Frieden computer. We were taking the theoretical and making it real.’
Ross’s pioneering work helped to shatter stereotypes and usher in a new generation of opportunities for women and Native Americans in fields like engineering, science, mathematics and technology.
She joined the Society of Women Engineers in the 1950s, which later established a scholarship in her name in 1992 to help support women working in technology and engineering. Ross also supported groups like the Council of Energy Resources Tribes and the American Indians in Science and Engineering Society to advocate on behalf of Native Americans.
After retiring in 1973, she resided in Los Altos, California until passing away at age 99 on April 29, 2008. Ross’s brilliant work in advancing science and technology and groundbreaking career continues to be felt today, opening up countless new opportunities for women and Native Americans in STEM fields.
What is a Google Doodle?
A Google Doodle is a change to Google’s homepage logo on a temporary basis that recognizes an individual, event, accomplishment, anniversary and the like.
First created by Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 1998 to celebrate the Burning Man festival, they were later produced by the company’s chief public relations officer Dennis Hwang. Afterwards, a special in-house team called Doodlers was established to create them more frequently.
Google Doodles nowadays are typically used to mark holidays such as Christmas and Halloween as well as to honor specific individuals such as Gerda Taro, Dilip Sardesai and Ibn Sina.