Computer Science Superheroes
John McCarthy
John McCarthy was born September 4th, 1927. He lived for 83 years before dying on October 24, 2001. McCarthy went to the California Institute of Technology and received a Bachelor's degree in mathematics in 1948. He then received a PhD in mathematics from Princeton University in 1951. After graduating, John McCarthy was a Professor of Computer Science at many elite universities such as Stanford, Dartmouth, and MIT. He also received the ACM Turing Award in 1971, the Kyoto Prize in 1988, the National Medal of Science in 1990, and the Ben Franklin Medal in 2003. John McCarthy created the term “artificial intelligence” in 1955. He developed the programing language LISP in 1958, which is the second oldest programming language. He also developed the concept of time-sharing on a computer in the late 1950s and early 1960s, improving the efficiency of distributed computing. John McCarthy developed the first “hand-eye” computer system which was a computer that had a video camera to see real 3D blocks and it controlled a robotic arm to complete simple stacking and arrangement exercises. I think it is really cool that McCarthy made this.
Gladys West
Gladys West was born October 27, 1930. She is currently 91 years old. Gladys recieved a full scholorship to Virginia State College and earned a degree in mathematics in 1952. She then got a master's degree in mathematics in 1955. Gladys West had big contributions to the mathematical modeling od the irregular shape of the earth. She also worked on the development of the satellite geodesy models that are incorperated in the GPS. Gladys West was the progect manager for SEASAT, which was the first earth-orbiting satellite designed for measuring ocean depths. I think that it is cool that she was one of the first people to be a part of this.
Hedy Lamarr
Hedy Lamarr was born November 9, 1914. She lived for 85 years before dying on January 19, 2000 due to a heart condition. Lamarr didn't go to college but studied acting in Berlin under Max Reinhardt. SHe also studied ballet and piano as a child. She was awarded with the Pioneer Award in 1977by the Eletronic Frontier Foundation. SHe also became the first woman to be awarded with the Invention Convention's Bulbie Gnass Spirit of Achievement Award. In 2014, after she died, she was inducted tnto the National Inventors Hall of Fame for frequency hopping technology. Hedy Lamarr created the "Secret Communications System", now called the WiFi. She also made other wireless communications suhc as GPS and Blutooth Communication Systems. Along with being a very important computer science superhero, Hedy was also an actress. It is so cool that Hedy was able to contribute so much to computer science but also pursue other goals.