The NCWIT Pioneer in Tech Award recognizes technical women whose lifetime contributions have significantly impacted the landscape of technological innovation, amplifying the importance of capitalizing on the diverse perspectives that girls and women can bring to the table. Pioneer in Tech Award recipients also serve as role models whose legacies continue to inspire generations of young women to pursue computing and make history in their own right.
Francine (Fran) Berman, PhD, is a data scientist, teacher, mentor, and computing leader. Her interests span public interest technology (PIT), cyberinfrastructure, and the social impacts of technology, and her work has focused on the information technology impacts, specifically the Internet of Things (IoT) — how billions of interconnected devices and systems are transforming science and society alike.
On June 1st-2nd, NCWIT hosted the 2026 NCWIT Summit in Boulder, Colorado! It was wonderful to convene with attendees in person as well as online. We are deeply grateful for
NCWIT is delighted to announce Dr. Marian Croak as the 2026 Pioneer in Tech Award recipient for her groundbreaking technical contributions, visionary leadership, and enduring impact on communications technology and
NCWIT is excited to announce Fran Berman, PhD, as the 2024 recipient of the Pioneer in Tech Award! Stay tuned for a recording of her award celebration! She spoke
NCWIT is excited to announce Dr. Erna Schneider Hoover as the 2023 Pioneer Award recipient for her role in revolutionizing the modern telephone system. Dr. Hoover was born in Irvington, New
Frances “Poppy” Northcutt’s career includes groundbreaking achievements as an engineer, as a women’s rights advocate, and as an attorney. Born in Many, Louisiana, and raised in Luling and Dayton, Texas,
Dr. Gladys West started her career at Naval Proving Ground in Dahlgren, Virginia, now called the Naval Surface Warfare Center, in 1956, and she worked there for 42 years as
Ruzena Bajcsy has spent much of her career at the intersection of human and machine ways of interpreting the world, with research interests that include Artificial Intelligence; Biosystems and Computational
Lynn Conway began her computing career at IBM research after completing her graduate studies at Columbia, joining the IBM Advanced Computing Systems project just as it was forming in 1965.
After her graduation in 1969, Lorinda Cherry worked for a few years as a Fortran programmer, but she found it “very boring” to constantly write programs based on someone else’s
Barbara Liskov became one of the first women in the U.S. to get a PhD from a computer science department and has led a noteworthy career. She is currently an
Cynthia Solomon’s focus has been on creating fun-filled, thoughtful, personally expressive, and aesthetically pleasing learning environments for children. Her work has spanned several important collaborations, including her four-decade-long collaboration on
As a NASA mathematician, Katherine Johnson’s calculations include the trajectory for the space flight of Alan Shepard, the first American in space; John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth;
Eleanor Kolchin graduated from Brooklyn College in 1947 with a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics. She was treasurer of Pi Mu Epsilon, the national honorary mathematics society. After a short period