disappointed

[dangerousliaison]

I was browsing amazon looking at books with dd age 6 and engineers by Adam hart davis came up and dds eyes lit up and she showed alot of interest in it.

So we looked in the book and I gave an explination as to what an engineer is and also said, you have to be very clever to be an engineer and told her that she could be an engineer one day when she grows up and she told me that only men are builders and designers so only men could be engineers.

I also explained I had read about this book and unfortunatly only a very small number of engineers in history have been woman but Im sure far more than is represented in the book. Well i was hoping anyway.

I have ordered the book for dd as she showed such a keen interest, but I my self am very poorly educated so could others name female engineers for me to help educate my self and dd. thanks.

[dangerousliaison]

not sure why my heading is disappointed..though i am disappointed in dds attitude and my own poor knowledge.

[Springforward]

DH is a Mechatronic Engineer and has a female apprentice. I've never heard him mention a famous female engineer, but will ask him. FWIW the head of his old uni's Engineering department was female.

[Springforward]

Builders and designers - what about female architects? One on the tip of my tongue, annoyingly....

[dangerousliaison]

and architects..

I once met a very lovely and very articulate lady who has autism who was very comforted and inspireded by architecture and ice skating I forget her name sadly too.

[Springforward]

Mind you, at his graduation I was spectacularly irritated by The Award For Being A Girl Engineer (it had a better name than that, you understand) as I considered it unnecessary and patronising. There were lots of women in his graduating year.

[Springforward]

Zaha Hadid was the architect I was thinking of.

[EdithWeston]

You might like to have a browse around this site: The Women's Engineering Society

[Springforward]

Right. DH points out that, by and large, engineers take the work of scientists and turn it into a practical application which results in a product or service. Therefore Marie Curie counts! (Engineering application is fault-finding/ inspection.)

[EdithWeston]

This us their page on pioneering women engineers.

[EdithWeston]

Victoria Drummond is a lovely example - and the niece who wrote her biography was herself a tireless campaigner for women's rights (notably improved pensions for war widows).

[dangerousliaison]

thanks Edith and springforward makes sence also looking at engineering from a scientific and societal contribution. i could maybe then consider a few of my own given a bit of time and use of google

[Springforward]

DH and google have been busy. Apparently kevlar and the space shuttle tiles were the work of female engineers. He didn't note their names, though ?