Women in STEM advent calendar: Day 14 – Al-‘Ijliyah al-Asturlabi

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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!

Al-‘Ijliyah al-Asturlabi

Maker of astrolabes
Mid-10th Century CE
Syria

Al-‘Ijliyah al-Asturlabi made astrolabes, learning first from her father before being apprenticed to mastercraftsman Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh Nasṭūlus. Her intricate and innovative designs led her to work for Sayf al-Dawla, the Emir of Aleppo, from 944 to 967 CE. She also inspired the titular character in Nnedi Okorafor’s sci-fi novella Binti.

Al-‘Ijliyah al-Asturlabi is also called Mariam al-Asturlabi, Mariam ‘Al-Astrolabiya’ Al-Ijliya, and Al-‘Ijliyah bint al-‘Ijli al-Asturlabi, or in Arabic, العجلية بنت العجلي الأسطرلابي .

For more on Al-‘Ijliyah al-Asturlabi:

 

Day 13 – Rupa Bai Furdoonji Day 15 – Professor Honoria Acosta-Sison

 

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 12 – Dr Nadezhda Suslova

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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!

Advent 12 - Dr Nadezhda Suslova

Dr Nadezhda Suslova

Russia’s first female physician
1 Sep 1843 – 20 Apr 1918
Russia

Nadezhda Suslova was one of only three women allowed to study at the Imperial Military Medical Academy, St Petersburg. When they banned women, she finished her PhD at the University of Zurich, becoming their first female doctor. Returning to Russia, she passed her professional exam, practiced gynaecology and paediatrics, and studied the public health risks of slums.

Her full name is Nadezhda Prokofyevna Suslova, or in Russian, Надежда Прокофьевна Суслова.

For more on Dr Nadezhda Suslova:

 

Day 11 – Professor Fahire Battalgazi Day 13 – Rupa Bai Furdoonji

 

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