Author Archives: Stephanie

Women in STEM advent calendar: Day 13 – Dr Rupa Bai Furdoonji

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This winter, we are celebrating the festive season by honouring 25 amazing women in STEM, some of which you might not know of!

Dr Rupa Bai Furdoonji

First female anaesthetist
before 1885 – after 1920
India

Rupa Bai Furdoonji studied at the Hyderabad Medical School from 1885 to 1889, then worked as a hospital anaesthesiologist, administering chloroform. She was a contributor to the Second Hyderabad Chloroform Commission. In 1909, she studied physics and chemistry at Edinburgh, and later also earnt a doctorate at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. She retired in 1920.

Extra info: In that era, anaesthesiology wasn’t a separate discipline as the surgeon would administer the anaesthetic, but physics and chemistry were considered useful subjects for anyone handling anaesthetics. Dr Edward Laurie, the principal of Hyderabad Medical School, encouraged Rupa Bai to become an anaesthesia specialist, and she was likely the first woman to do so.

For more on Dr Rupa Bai Furdoonji:

 

Day 12 – Dr Nadezhda Suslova Day 14 – Al-‘Ijliyah al-Asturlabi

 

Women in STEM advent calendar: Day 11 – Professor Fahire Battalgazi

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This winter, we are celebrating the festive season by honouring 25 amazing women in STEM, some of which you might not know of!

Professor Fahire Battalgazi

Ichthyologist
1902 – 1948
Turkey

Fahire Battalgazi was the first Turkish woman to become a zoologist, and the first person to get a zoology doctorate in Turkey. In 1944, she became a full professor at the University of Istanbul. She described several species of freshwater fish that were previously unknown in Turkey, some of which were new to science. Three species of fish have been named after her.  

Born Fahire Akim Hanım, Fahire Battalgazi’s surname was Battalgil until it was changed in 1943.

For more on Professor Fahire Battalgazi:

 

Day 10 – Professor Euphemia Haynes Day 12 – Dr Nadezhda Suslova

 

Women in STEM advent calendar: Day 10 – Professor Euphemia Haynes

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This winter, we are celebrating the festive season by honouring 25 amazing women in STEM, some of which you might not know of!

Professor Euphemia Haynes

First female African-American doctor of mathematics
11 Sep 1890 – 25 Jul 1980
USA

In 1943, Euphemia Lofton Haynes was awarded her PhD in maths, aged 53. She taught in public schools in Washington, DC, for 47 years. She was the first woman to chair the DC Board of Education, where she campaigned successfully for desegregation. She also created the Division of Mathematics and Business Education at Miner Teachers College, where she was a maths professor.

For more on Professor Euphemia Haynes:

 

Day 9 – Florence Violet McKenzie OBE Day 11 – Professor Fahire Battalgazi

Women in STEM advent calendar: Day 9 – Florence Violet McKenzie OBE

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This winter, we are celebrating the festive season by honouring 25 amazing women in STEM, some of which you might not know of!

Florence Violet McKenzie OBE

Australia’s first female electrical engineer
28 Sep 1890 – 23 May 1982
Australia

Florence Violet McKenzie, née Wallace, was first Australian woman to earn an electrical engineering diploma, and the first to become a certified radio telegraphist and gain membership of the Wireless Institute of Australia. She founded the Electrical Association for Women (Australia) and the Women’s Emergency Signalling Corps, which trained 3000 female telegraphists and lead to the creation of the Women’s Royal Australian Naval Service.

For more on Florence McKenzie, please read the following links:

 

Day 8 – Aglaonice Day 10 – Professor Euphemia Haynes

Women in STEM advent calendar: Day 8 – Aglaonice

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This winter, we are celebrating the festive season by honouring 25 amazing women in STEM, some of which you might not know of!

Aglaonice

Astronomer
2nd or 1st Century BCE
Greece

Aglaonice was a famous astronomer who could predict lunar eclipses. Plutarch wrote that, during a total lunar eclipse, she “pretended to bewitch [the moon] and draw it down” from the sky. For these performances to convince, the moon must have become completely invisible, so she may also have understood the 11 year solar cycle which influences how dark the eclipsed moon becomes.

For more on Aglaonice:

 

Day 7 – Hildegard of Bingen Day 9 – Florence Violet McKenzie OBE