Necessity is the mother of invention.Plato
On May 5, 1809, Ms. Mary Dixon Kies became the first woman to receive a patent in the United States of America for her technique of weaving straw with silk. Women, from time immemorial, have been innovating and making breakthroughs in the technological world. From windshield wipers to coffee filter paper, women have contributed significantly with their inventions to make this world a better place.
March is observed as the women’s history month to reflect on the often-overlooked contributions of women in history. To mark women’s history month, we honor the contributions of these 15 female inventors who have been driving innovation.
Ms. Catia Bastioli is an Italian inventor, chemist, researcher, and entrepreneur. She holds a degree in pure chemistry from the University of Perugia, Italy. Ms. Bastioli also attended the School of Business Administration (“Alti Potenziali Montedison”) at the Bocconi University in Milan. Ms. Bastioli is the CEO of Novamont S.p.A. She is also the president of Terna Spa of the Kyoto Club Association and the Italian Technological Cluster of Green Chemistry SPRING and a member of the Board of Directors of Fondazione Cariplo.
Her most valuable patent is US5412005A for biodegradable polymeric compositions based on starch and thermoplastic polymers.
Source – EPO
Ms. Bastioli’s patent portfolio has 1291 patents globally which belong to 186 unique patent families. She is an individual inventor of 4 and a co-inventor in the rest of the 182 core patents.
Dr. Esther Sans Takeuchi is an American inventor. She completed her graduation from the University of Pennsylvania. She completed her Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Ohio State University under the direction of Dr. Harold Shechter in 1981. She has been a Professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo since September 2007. Before this, she worked with Electrochem as a Chief Scientist and at Greatbatch Inc. for more than two decades as a Director of Research & Development.
She has also served as a postdoctoral research associate in electrochemistry, first at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1982 to 1983 and then at the State University of New York at Buffalo from 1983 to 1984.
Dr. Takeuchi is a member of the US National Academy of Engineering. After 40 years in industry and academia, she continues to work at the forefront of battery technology innovation.
The most valuable patent in Ms. Takeuchi’s portfolio is US4964877A for a non-aqueous lithium battery.
Source – EPO
Ms. Takeuchi has 584 patents globally which belong to 153 unique patent families in her patent portfolio. She is an individual inventor of 5 and a co-inventor in the rest of the 148 core patents.
Ms. Joy Mangano is an American inventor and entrepreneur. She was the president of Ingenious Designs LLC. In addition, she completed her graduation in business administration from Pace University.
In 1990 after growing frustrated with ordinary mops, Ms. Mangano developed her first invention, the Miracle Mop. It is a self-wringing plastic mop with a head made from a continuous loop of 300 feet (90 meters) of cotton that can be easily wrung out without getting the user’s hands wet. David O. Russell directed an Oscar-nominated movie based on her life, Joy. Ms. Mangano has also written a best-selling book, Inventing Joy, for those who want to build a brave and creative life.
Source – The Inc
The most valuable patent in Ms. Mangano’s portfolio is US5722260A for reversible jewelry clasp for necklaces and/or bracelets.
Ms. Mangano’s patent portfolio consists of 121 patents globally which belong to 68 unique patent families. She is an individual inventor of 55 and a co-inventor in the rest of the 13 core patents.
Dr. Helen Lee is a medical researcher. She obtained her Ph.D. in biology, microbiology, and parasitology from Cornell University. Dr. Lee is the Associate Professor in Medical Biotechnology at the University of Cambridge. She is also the President and CEO of Diagnostics for the Real World Ltd (DRW), Sunnyvale, USA, and its wholly-owned subsidiary, DRW-Europe, Cambridge, UK. She worked with Abbott Laboratories from 1991 to 1995 as a General Manager for the Probe Diagnostics Business Unit.
Her invention, the diagnostic kit SAMBA II is being repurposed for use in COVID-19 testing. The most valuable patent in Ms. Lee’s portfolio is US6521747B2 for haplotypes of the AGTR1 gene.
Source – EPO
Dr. Lee has 168 patents globally which belong to 37 unique patent families in her patent portfolio. She is an individual inventor of 4 and a co-inventor in the rest of the 33 core patents.
Ms. Ann Lambrechts is a Belgian inventor. She works with NV Bekaert SA as a global sales and product manager. Before this, she worked as the head of R&D for Building Products at Bekaert.
Source – EPO
Her invention of mixing steel wire elements into concrete has improved the stability of structures where it is used and reduced building costs—this invention, which is patent no. US6235108B1 is the most valuable patent in her portfolio. In addition, her invention increases the bending tensile strength of concrete by 32%, enabling more pioneering projects to be built.
Ms. Lambrecht’s patent portfolio has 232 patents globally, which belong to 28 unique patent families. She is an individual inventor of 10 and a co-inventor in the remaining 18 core patents.
Dr. Ursula Keller is a Swiss inventor. She obtained her Ph.D. in engineering physics/applied physics from Stanford University.
Dr. Keller joined ETH Zurich as a professor of physics in 1993, where she led the Ultrafast Laser Physics group. She currently serves as a director of the NCCR MUST (Molecular Ultrafast Science and Technology), an interdisciplinary research program supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation, bringing together 15 Swiss research groups in ultrafast physics and chemistry. She has published more than 330 peer-reviewed journal papers and 11 book chapters.
The most valuable patent in Dr. Keller’s portfolio is US6834064B1 for the semiconductor saturable-absorber mirror technology used in mode-locking ultrafast solid-state laser systems.
Source – EPO
She has 80 patents globally which belong to 22 unique patent families in her patent portfolio. She is an individual inventor of 2 and a co-inventor in the rest 20 core patents.
Dr. Christine Van Broeckhoven is a Belgian inventor. She completed her Ph.D. in molecular biology from the University of Antwerp. Ms. Broeckhoven has been a Molecular Biology and Genetics Professor at the University of Antwerp since 1995.
Since 1983 she has had her laboratory for molecular genetics at the University of Antwerp, and since 2005 is focussing her research on neurodegenerative brain diseases. She is an associate editor of the scientific journal Genes, Brain, and Behavior.
Dr. Broeckhoven has over 35 years of experience in molecular genetics research of neurodegenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s, frontotemporal lobar degeneration, amyothrophic lateral sclerosis, lewy bodies disorders, and Parkinson’s disease.
The most valuable patent in Dr. Broeckhoven’s portfolio is EP561087B1 for a mutated form of the beta-amyloid precursor protein gene.
Source – magazine.live
Her patent portfolio has 77 patents globally which belong to 20 unique patent families.
Late Dr. Margarita Salas (November 30, 1938 – November 7, 2019) was a Spanish inventor. Margarita had graduated from the Complutense University of Madrid with a BA in chemistry and obtained a Ph.D. in 1963. She started her career in the US-based laboratory of Nobel-prize winner Severo Ochoa. She returned to her native Spain in 1967 to establish the country’s first research group in molecular genetics.
Dr. Salas led the breakthroughs that have since made DNA testing fast, reliable, and used in many applications.
The most valuable patent in Dr. Salas’s portfolio is US5198543A for an improved method for determining the nucleotide base sequence of a DNA molecule.
Source – The Conversation
Her patent portfolio has 80 patents globally which belong to 19 unique patent families.
Ms. Marissa Mayer is an American inventor. Marissa studied symbolic systems and computer science with an emphasis on artificial intelligence, receiving a BS degree in 1997 and an MS degree in 1999 at Stanford University. She is the co-founder of Sunshine Contacts. She has worked with some of the major corporate giants like Walmart, Yahoo, and Google. Ms. Mayer designed the search interface of Google’s home page. During her tenure at Google, Ms. Mayer helped create many patented inventions related to web-browsing software, including a program that searches saved articles.
Source – Business Insider
Ms. Mayer actively invests in technology companies, including crowd-sourced design retailer Minted, live video platform Airtime.com, wireless power startup uBeam, online DIY community/e-commerce company Brit + Co., mobile payments processor Square, home décor site One Kings Lane, genetic testing company Natera, and nootropics and biohacking company Nootrobox.
The most valuable patent in Ms. Mayer’s portfolio is US7096214B1 for a system and method for supporting editorial opinion in ranking search results.
Source – US7096214B1
Ms. Mayer has 63 patents globally which belong to 14 unique patent families in her patent portfolio.
Ms. Annegret Matthai is a German inventor working with Audi AG, Germany. She is involved and working on inventions related to the motor industry. The most valuable patent in her portfolio is DE102008004049A1 for a laminated glass unit for use as a windshield in a motor vehicle.
Source – DE102008004049A1
Ms. Matthai has 32 patents globally in her patent portfolio, which belong to 13 unique patent families.
Dr. Ann Tsukamoto is an American inventor with a Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology from the University of California. She is a stem cell researcher who started her career with SyStemix in 1989.
With her husband, Professor Irv Weissman, as co-patentee, Dr. Tsukamoto’s patent for stem cell isolation was awarded in 1991. Their discovery gave people with blood cancer another chance at life and has since saved hundreds of thousands of lives. Her work with Stem Cells, Inc. involves isolating liver and neural stem cells as they pertain to various diseases.
Her most recent position was executive vice president for Scientific and Strategic Alliances at StemCells, Inc. During her 18-year tenure at StemCells, Dr. Tsukamoto led the scientific team that discovered the human central nervous system stem cell (HuCNS-SC®) and a second candidate stem cell for the liver and that transitioned the human neural stem cell into early clinical development in all three components of the CNS: brain, spinal cord, and eye. The biological potential and activity of these HuCNS-SC® cells were demonstrated in some patients and reflected results seen in preclinical rodents studies. Unfortunately, the many challenges of developing a cell therapy in a small biotech firm led to the closure of StemCells, Inc., in August 2016.
She successfully invented the method to isolate blood stem cells in the body and obtained patent no. US5061620A.
Source – Women@TheFrontier
This is the most valuable patent in her portfolio. Dr. Tsukamoto has 48 patents globally in her portfolio, which belong to 8 unique patent families.
Dr. Laura Johanna van ‘t Veer is a Dutch Molecular Biologist and inventor of MammaPrint. Her research focuses on personalized medicine to advance patient management based on knowledge of the genetic make-up of the tumor as well as the genetic make-up of the patient. She completed her Ph.D. in oncology and cancer biology from Leiden University.
Laura has been the Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Director Applied Genomics Cancer Center at the UCSF (University of California San Francisco) since 2010. She has earlier worked with Agendia and the Netherlands Cancer Institute. Laura was also a Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard Medical School (HMS) from 1989 to 1991.
Source – EPO
The most valuable patent in Laura Johanna van ’t Veer’s portfolio is US7171311B2, for methods of assigning treatment to breast cancer patients.
In Laura Johanna van ’t Veer’s patent portfolio, there are 40 patents globally, which belong to 8 unique patent families.
Ms. Macinley Butson is an Australian inventor with a bachelor’s degree in science from the University of Wollongong. She is the founder of Passionately Curious, which provides access and opportunity to STEM, sparking curiosity for a generation of young minds. Before starting Passionately Curious, Ms. Butson worked with Scilutions Pty Ltd as a Director.
She is notable as the youngest female inventor and scientist. She came up with her first invention at the age of 6. Ms. Butson has received numerous awards and honors as an inventor.
Ms. Butson’s patent portfolio has six patents globally, all belonging to unique patent families. She is an individual inventor of all six core patents. She invented an ultraviolet radiation sticker that measures the solar UV exposure required to sanitize drinking water and a smart shield to protect women undergoing radiotherapy against excess radiation.
Source – Good News Network
Ms. Patricia Billings is an American inventor and businesswoman. She completed her study in Arts at Amarillo College in Texas. Her detour from art into technology came in the late 1970s when a swan sculpture fell and shattered after months of work. Ms. Billings, who knew that Michelangelo and other Renaissance sculptors used a cement additive to give their plaster longevity, set out to create a modern equivalent.
Her specialty was plaster of Paris sculptures, and Ms. Billings filed several patents for building materials, including modular wall panels and roofing tiles.
The most valuable patent in Ms. Billings’s portfolio is US5647180A for a fire-resistant building panel marketed by the name Geobond®.
Geobond® products are so resistant to heat that it remains lukewarm after being torched with a 2,000°F flame for four hours.
Source – Inventricity
Ms. Billings, in her patent portfolio, has eight patents globally, which belong to 5 unique patent families.
Ms. Lynn Ann Conway is an American inventor. After earning her BS and MSEE from Columbia University’s School of Engineering and Applied Science, Ms. Conway joined IBM Research. There she made foundational contributions to computer architecture, including the invention of multiple-out-of-order dynamic instruction scheduling. Fired by IBM as she underwent gender transition in 1968, Ms. Conway secretly started her career over again in stealth mode, soon becoming a computer architect at Memorex. She has also worked at MIT as a Vis. Assoc. Professor of EECS, Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, and DAPRA. She is an Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Professor at the University of Michigan.
Her specialties are computer science, systems architecture, electrical engineering, microelectronic design, research management, engineering education, and human rights advocacy.
Source – Michigan AI Lab – University of Michigan
The most valuable patent in Ms. Conway’s portfolio is US5652849A for an apparatus and method for remote control using a visual information stream.
In Ms. Conway’s patent portfolio, there are five patents globally, which belong to 5 unique patent families.
These are some female inventors from numerous women who have contributed to the world of innovation. These women are an inspiration for young girls around the world. Women continue to disrupt the patent industry and make life easier with their inventions. We at PQAI salute and celebrate all the female inventors around the world.
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