Latina Women in History
Ellen Ochoa's career offers an outstanding example of how invention can lead to adventure: she established herself as an innovative engineer and went on to become the world's first Hispanic female astronaut.
Ochoa received her bachelor of science degree in physics from San Diego State University, and a master of science degree and doctorate in electrical engineering from Stanford University.
Ellen Ochoa’s pre-doctoral work at Stanford University in electrical engineering led to the development of an optical system designed to detect imperfections in repeating patterns. This invention patented in 1987, can be used for quality control in the manufacturing of various intricate parts. Dr. Ellen Ochoa later patented an optical system which can be used to robotically manufacture goods or in robotic guiding systems. In all, Ellen Ochoa has received three patents most recently one in 1990.
In addition to being an inventor, Dr. Ellen Ochoa is also a research scientist and astronaut for NASA. Selected by NASA in January 1990, Dr. Ellen Ochoa is a veteran of three space flights. She has logged over 719 hours in space, her most recent mission was a 10 day mission aboard the space shuttle Discovery in May of 1999.
Ellen Ochoa has won numerous awards for her success as an engineer, an astronaut, and a role model---not just for Hispanic or female aspiring scientists, but for anyone who believes that excellence will eventually find its recognition and reward.
Adriana Ocampo grew up in Argentina, fascinated by the stars and planets. When her father moved the family to the United States, she joined an explorers club at her high school, which in turn led to a field trip to NASA. Even as a child, she loved to travel and learn. Adriana is a scientist who studies geology . Her questions about Earth have taken her around the world. Understanding just our planet isn't enough for Adriana. She also studies the geology of the other planets in the Solar System. Of course, she can't travel to these planets herself. Instead, she works with teams of scientists to send satellites and robots to other planets. Her enthusiasm for satellite design and interest in geology eventually led to a job. First helping to design a Mars rover, she then got involved in the search for a crater created by a massive asteroid collision that evidently caused mass extinctions in the age of dinosaurs.
Adriana speaks in countries all over the globe and leads research expeditions with colleagues, college students, and teachers. She is bringing her love of planetary geology to more and more people--especially minorities and young people. She now examines photos of distant planets taken by “fly-by” space probes and is always planning new geological expeditions.
Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (born September 29, 1951) is a center-left politician and the current President of Chile—the first woman to hold this position in the country's history. She won the 2006 presidential election in a runoff, beating center-right billionaire businessman and former senator Sebastián Piñera, with 53.5% of the vote. Michelle Bachelet has ended the male dominance of Chilean politics and shown how democratic pluralism is blossoming in the post-Pinochet era. A moderate Socialist, she campaigned on a platform of continuing Chile's free market policies, while increasing social benefits to help reduce the country's gap between rich and poor, one of the largest in the world. She was inaugurated on March 11, 2006.
Bachelet—a surgeon, pediatrician and epidemiologist with studies in military strategy—served as Health Minister and Defense Minister under President Ricardo Lagos. She is a separated mother of three and a self-described agnostic, which sets her apart in a predominantly conservative and Catholic country. A polyglot, she speaks Spanish, English, German, Portuguese and French. In 2006, Forbes magazine ranked her as 17th in the list of the 100 most powerful women in the world.
