The date was established by the United Nations and promoted by the Women’s Engineering Association
According to the United Nations Organization for Women, UN Women, great strides have been made in the presence of women in industrial and technological development; However, the gap is still wide.
In his statement Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics in Latin America and the Caribbean UN Women noted that only 3 percent of Nobel Prizes in science have been awarded to women.
In Latin America, the picture is a little more encouraging, as 45 percent of students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics are registered as women, but this number is reduced by the level of specialization and development in the professional field.
For this reason, International Women Engineers Day is commemorated, which seeks to promote the development of women in the fields of technology and research and to recognize the work they have done.
The celebration begins in 2014 to mark the 95th anniversary of the Society of Women in Engineering and to highlight and recognize women in the field.
A woman engineer who left a great legacy
If we talk about a woman who left a great legacy in the field of research and engineering, we should remember when collaborating with chemical engineer Stephanie Kwolek. DuPontFor more than 50 years we have been able to develop an aramid fiber that has saved thousands of lives: Kevlar®.
This high-resistance compound is mainly used in personal protective equipment such as bulletproof vests and ballistic helmets, but is also used in various sectors of industry because of its resistance and compatibility in telecommunications, construction, mobility and many other sectors. Development of space technology.
Kwolek was born on July 31, 1923 in New Kensington, Pennsylvania. After completing his studies, he began working as a polymer engineering chemist at DuPont and spent most of his career in the textile fiber laboratory.
His goal was to find a fiber stronger than nylon; However, after various tests and experiments, he was able to create polyparaphenylene terephthalamide in 1985, which is more resistant than steel and, above all, lighter. The company began marketing Kevlar® in 1972, and the material currently has more than 200 applications.
This discovery brought him various recognitions, including his induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1994.
Over the years Stephanie has become a role model for engineers or students in the area to follow. Throughout her life, she has always encouraged women to achieve their goals and to specialize in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM education), branches of which were previously chosen only by men.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own. pv magazine.
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