The world of invention has been driven by women, albeit behind the scenes. Very few people know just how many inventions have been created by women, and how many of those inventions we used in our day to day lives. This includes things such as automatic dishwashing machines to medical inventions that save lives. This is why Haris Ahmed from Romeoville felt it was time to put a spotlight on some of those amazing women, women of the block, women just like anybody else. Mainly, however, they are women to whom a massive debt of gratitude should be paid. Let’s take a look at some of them.

Haris Ahmed on Josephine Garis Cochrane

Cochrane actually invented the first automatic dishwasher. She did this in 1886. As a wealthy socialite, she held regular dinner parties. She charged her servants with the dishes, but still felt unhappy about how long it took, and she was concerned about her fine china becoming chipped and damage. Hence, she decreed that dishwashing should be done automatically.

Cochrane’s friends couldn’t believe their eyes. However, they found her invention so beneficial, that they asked her to make them some as well. Soon, she started to get orders from restaurants and hotel. This prompted her to go into production after patenting her design. She also won the highest possible aware at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, which took place in 1893.

Haris Ahmed on Ellen Ochoa

Ochoa was a female inventor and an astronaut. She was born in Los Angeles, CA on May 10, 1958. She moved to San Diego to go to their state university, from which she graduated with a BS in Physics. She then moved on to a master’s degree, ending with a doctorate in electrical engineering, which she obtained from Stanford University. She created an optical system that could be placed on the block of an existing device, enabling the detection of imperfections. She patented her system in 1987 and it is still used in manufacturing quality control. She has received three patents to date. Ochoa is also an astronaut and has taken part in three space flights, with in excess of 719 hours in space.

Haris Ahmed on Patsy Sherman

Sherman invented Scotchgard. She was one of the very few female chemists to work for 3M in 1952. She created a product that other scientists had said was thermodynamically impossible to do. Yet, Sherman did it. She said she was working on a rubber to be used in fuel lines for jet aircraft, when synthetic latex that she had created splashed on the shoes of one of her assistants, creating a remarkable effect. Indeed, the accidental spillage was witness by herself and Sam Smith, who continue to jointly hold patent ~3,574,791. Between them, they hold a further 12 patents together for polymerization processes and fluorochemical polymers.

Women inventors can be found everywhere. They have changed the world for the better, and they deserve recognition for this.