Thread by @bnl_consulting

Happy first day of #BlackHistoryMonth! To celebrate, we'll periodically take time to honor the brilliant Black minds that have contributed to our field over the years. A thread:

First up in our series: @6Gems, who founded @BlackGirlsCode after noticing the severe underrepresentation of minorities in the startup world. Bryant's nonprofit has enabled many young black girls to create meaningful work & go on to become leaders in their communities. #BHM2022

@6Gems @BlackGirlsCode Katherine Johnson was a human computer whose calculations were essential to @NASA's Project Mercury, Apollo 11, and more. When the space program switched to digital computers, Johnson helped confirm the accuracy of their calculations.

@6Gems @BlackGirlsCode @NASA In 1982, Dr. Marsha Rhea Williams became the first Black woman to earn a PhD. in computer science! While today she enjoys an impressive career in higher education, she also worked at @IBM and served as a fellow with the @NSF.

@6Gems @BlackGirlsCode @NASA @IBM @NSF Marc Hannah was the principal engineer for the innovative programs behind some of the most striking #movie visuals of the #90s including Jurassic Park and Terminator 2. He holds multiple patents for his groundbreaking #tech!

@6Gems @BlackGirlsCode @NASA @IBM @NSF Today we celebrate Alan Emtage, who invented the world's first internet search engine! Emtage calls his invention the “great great grandfather of Google" and was first implemented in 1989.

@6Gems @BlackGirlsCode @NASA @IBM @NSF @ABenton is the founder and CEO of @Streamlytics, a streaming analytics platform with a focus on transparency and helping consumers own their data. Benton also founded @NewMEBootcamp, an opportunity accelerator for underrepresented startup founders!

@6Gems @BlackGirlsCode @NASA @IBM @NSF @ABenton @Streamlytics Muthoni Wanyoike is making an impact in the world of #DataScience with her organization Nairobi Women Learning and Data Science. As co-founder of the group, she focuses on bringing AI opportunities to African women. #womenintech

@6Gems @BlackGirlsCode @NASA @IBM @NSF @ABenton @Streamlytics @BlkInData co-founder Dr. @RuthAgbakoba uses her voice to elevate Black voices in data science. She also advocates fiercely for #STEM education for underrepresented women and research professionals in digital health innovation. #BlackInData

@6Gems @BlackGirlsCode @NASA @IBM @NSF @ABenton @Streamlytics @BlkInData @RuthAgbakoba Annie Easley was a leading member of the team that developed #software for the Centaur rocket stage, which laid the technological foundations for the Space Shuttle launches and launches of communication, military and weather #satellites.

@6Gems @BlackGirlsCode @NASA @IBM @NSF @ABenton @Streamlytics @BlkInData @RuthAgbakoba If you use @Adobe Director, you can thank @jht1493! He invented the programming language called utilized by #adobedirector, Lingo. He also had a huge hand in influencing the next generation of tech developers when he taught at @dreXeL.

@6Gems @BlackGirlsCode @NASA @IBM @NSF @ABenton @Streamlytics @BlkInData @RuthAgbakoba @Adobe @jht1493 @dreXeL Dr. Mark Dean helped develop the original home computer, the systems that allow other devices to connect to a #PC, the color PC monitor, and the first gigahertz chip. Dean holds three of @IBM 's nine original patents. #ComputerScience

@6Gems @BlackGirlsCode @NASA @IBM @NSF @ABenton @Streamlytics @BlkInData @RuthAgbakoba @Adobe @jht1493 @dreXeL Yeshimabeit Milner (@YESHICAN) uses her #DataScience expertise to empower Black communities with @Data4BlackLives. As the co-founder and executive director of the organization, she earned a 30 Under 30 award from @Forbes!

@6Gems @BlackGirlsCode @NASA @IBM @NSF @ABenton @Streamlytics @BlkInData @RuthAgbakoba @Adobe @jht1493 @dreXeL @YESHICAN @Data4BlackLives @Forbes Rediet Abebe (@red_abebe) cofounded @MD4SG, an influential research collective that helps create and #code algorithms that address existing inequality in the field. As a Junior Fellow at #Harvard her research has shined light on the issues in bias in #AI.

@6Gems @BlackGirlsCode @NASA @IBM @NSF @ABenton @Streamlytics @BlkInData @RuthAgbakoba @Adobe @jht1493 @dreXeL @YESHICAN @Data4BlackLives @Forbes @red_abebe @MD4SG Clarence "Skip" Ellis wasn’t just the first African-American to earn a PhD in #computerscience, he also contributed to the development of the ILLIAC IV supercomputer, icon-based GUI, object-oriented #programming languages, and much more!

@6Gems @BlackGirlsCode @NASA @IBM @NSF @ABenton @Streamlytics @BlkInData @RuthAgbakoba @Adobe @jht1493 @dreXeL @YESHICAN @Data4BlackLives @Forbes @red_abebe @MD4SG Evelyn Boyd Granville wrote software programs for the @IBM 650 computer. When #IBM received a @NASA contract, Granville worked on several projects for the Apollo program, where she pioneered digital computer techniques. #Computertechnology #NASA #BlackHistoryMonth

@6Gems @BlackGirlsCode @NASA @IBM @NSF @ABenton @Streamlytics @BlkInData @RuthAgbakoba @Adobe @jht1493 @dreXeL @YESHICAN @Data4BlackLives @Forbes @red_abebe @MD4SG Otis Boykin was an inventor and computer scientist that saved countless lives with the invention of the resistor model used in a pacemaker! We also use the resistor model he constructed in tv, radio, and #computertechnology.

@6Gems @BlackGirlsCode @NASA @IBM @NSF @ABenton @Streamlytics @BlkInData @RuthAgbakoba @Adobe @jht1493 @dreXeL @YESHICAN @Data4BlackLives @Forbes @red_abebe @MD4SG Valerie L. Thomas invented the illusion transmitter, which enabled the creation of the MRI and 3D TV. She also helped develop the digital media formats image processing systems used in the early years of @NASA's Landsat program. #BlackHistoryMonth

@6Gems @BlackGirlsCode @NASA @IBM @NSF @ABenton @Streamlytics @BlkInData @RuthAgbakoba @Adobe @jht1493 @dreXeL @YESHICAN @Data4BlackLives @Forbes @red_abebe @MD4SG While working at the U.S. Naval Weapons Laboratory, Dr. Gladys West programmed an @IBM 7030 “Stretch” #computer that delivered refined calculations for an “extremely accurate geodetic Earth model” for what would eventually become known as the Global Positioning System, or #GPS

@6Gems @BlackGirlsCode @NASA @IBM @NSF @ABenton @Streamlytics @BlkInData @RuthAgbakoba @Adobe @jht1493 @dreXeL @YESHICAN @Data4BlackLives @Forbes @red_abebe @MD4SG Roy L. Clay, SR. is often referred to as "The Black Godfather" of #SiliconValley. He was a founding member of @HP 's computer development business, and then went on to lead the team that created the HP 2116A. #BlackHistoryMonth

@6Gems @BlackGirlsCode @NASA @IBM @NSF @ABenton @Streamlytics @BlkInData @RuthAgbakoba @Adobe @jht1493 @dreXeL @YESHICAN @Data4BlackLives @Forbes @red_abebe @MD4SG @HP Granville T. Woods impacted the world of electrical engineering in ways that we still benefit from today! His inventions received 27 patents between 1884 and 1904, including the mechanism for the trolley, telephone transmitter, and multiplex telegraph. #BHM2022

@6Gems @BlackGirlsCode @NASA @IBM @NSF @ABenton @Streamlytics @BlkInData @RuthAgbakoba @Adobe @jht1493 @dreXeL @YESHICAN @Data4BlackLives @Forbes @red_abebe @MD4SG @HP A critical component of @NASA satellite missions was Melba Roy Moulton and her computer expertise. She was later named the Head Computer Programmer at the Goddard Space Flight Center and earned an Apollo Achievement Award!

@6Gems @BlackGirlsCode @NASA @IBM @NSF @ABenton @Streamlytics @BlkInData @RuthAgbakoba @Adobe @jht1493 @dreXeL @YESHICAN @Data4BlackLives @Forbes @red_abebe @MD4SG @HP Computer Scientist Dr. Joy Buolamwini (@jovialjoy) combats #AI bias against marginalized groups by exposing the harms of decision-making algorithms. She also advocates for #data protections with her organization, @AJLUnited.

@6Gems @BlackGirlsCode @NASA @IBM @NSF @ABenton @Streamlytics @BlkInData @RuthAgbakoba @Adobe @jht1493 @dreXeL @YESHICAN @Data4BlackLives @Forbes @red_abebe @MD4SG @HP @jovialjoy @AJLUnited Dr. Frank Greene, an inductee of the Silicon Valley Engineering Hall of Fame, expanded the notion of who could innovate in the tech space. He developed computers for the NSA, helped develop the patented memory chip design, and holds the patent for the integrated circuit. #BHM

@6Gems @BlackGirlsCode @NASA @IBM @NSF @ABenton @Streamlytics @BlkInData @RuthAgbakoba @Adobe @jht1493 @dreXeL @YESHICAN @Data4BlackLives @Forbes @red_abebe @MD4SG @HP @jovialjoy @AJLUnited After @arbowe worked at @NASA as a mission engineer, she went on to co-found @STEMBoard, a company that creates software solutions that also runs educational workshops to expose historically underrepresented youth to #tech concepts such as #coding and engineering. #bhm

@6Gems @BlackGirlsCode @NASA @IBM @NSF @ABenton @Streamlytics @BlkInData @RuthAgbakoba @Adobe @jht1493 @dreXeL @YESHICAN @Data4BlackLives @Forbes @red_abebe @MD4SG @HP @jovialjoy @AJLUnited @arbowe @STEMBoard A huge thank you goes out to everyone who interacted with or read our thread! We hope you learned something new about some of the incredible Black technology leaders we featured. See y'all next year!