Oral-History:Distinguished Female Leaders: Inspiring the Next Generation in STEM

Abstract

The number that follows the interviewee's name is the interview's oral history code number, which uniquely identifies the interview in the IEEE History Center's archive. Please use this number when referring to an oral history.

This project comprises the oral histories of female leaders in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in the early part of the twenty-first century as recorded by female students at the very early stages of their careers. The students recorded the histories of these women because they identified them as role models, selected them from national databases of STEM leaders, in the careers the students are considering. Their perspectives as female STEM leaders bring to the field of oral history a unique set of one-on-one conversations with students. Additionally, the leaders provide a form of unprecedented mentorship through their perspectives on their STEM careers. This research adds to the body of knowledge by documenting the histories of women in STEM whose careers include leadership roles in industry, government, and academia.

The project took place at the Air Force Institute of Technology through NSF ADVANCE grant #0810989 to the LEADER Consortium (Launching Equity Across the Dayton Entrepreneurial Region: Following in the Footsteps of Katharine Wright). The IEEE History Center is a unit of IEEE, the world’s largest professional technical society. Founded in 1980, the IEEE History Center preserves and makes known the history of engineering and related fields. Its collection of oral histories includes recordings made in the 1970s, predating the center's formation, and captures the memories and career trajectories of important engineers and scientists. As of 2024, it includes more than 900 interviews.

The students focused their interviews on three research questions:

1 “What are the key factors that led to the success of the distinguished leaders?”;
2 “What are the crucial skills that enabled their success?”; and
3 “What is the impact on my career path?”

As part of the research design as autoethnography, this project presents a new contribution by focusing on the anticipated impact on the student interviewers' career paths.

Oral Histories

Oral Histories conducted by Kelsey Irvin:

Oral Histories conducted by Hannah Bech

Susan Coppersmith (#718)
Heidi Ries (#686)

Oral Histories conducted by Amanda Kapetanakis

Eva Andrei (#783)