Celebration of the Month Library Exhibits: Library Resources

A diverse compendium of biographies of leading American women in the field of technology.

You are a woman pursuing a successful career in engineering, science, or technology, and you are prepared to work hard for this. But you must also work smart. Becoming Leaders is about working smart and about making the choices that are right for you, your talents, and your life, wherever you are in your career. Chapters can be read in any order, with roadmaps for students, career women, faculty, and managers.

Before Steve Jobs put a personal computer in your hands; before Larry Page and Sergey Brin put any answer at your fingertips; before Mark Zuckerberg connected you to your long-lost friends, female visionaries were at the vanguard of the technology you love (and love to hate). VICE futures editor and lead singer of the band YACHT Claire Evans presents the first social history of women and the internet. These innovators, concentrating where computers have made our lives better, richer, and more connected, are the unsung heroes of network culture. Join the ranks of women who have pioneered technology, like Ada Lovelace, the tortured, imaginative daughter of Lord Byron, who wrote the first program for a mechanical computer. Grace Hopper, a navy admiral and mathematician created machine-independent programming languages. Stacy Horn ran one of the Internet's earliest social networks, Echo, out of her Greenwich Village apartment in New York City. To say nothing of database poets, desktop thespians, cyber-ingenues, glass ceiling-shattering entrepreneurs, and the self-proclaimed "biggest bitch in Silicon Alley." Evans shines a light on these bright minds whom history forgot, showing us how women have always pushed technology forward and will continue to shape our world in powerful ways that we can no longer ignore.

Meet the women who aren't asking permission from Silicon Valley to chase their dreams. They are going for it--building cutting-edge tech startups, investing in each other's ventures, crushing male hacker stereotypes and rallying the next generation of women in tech. With a nod to tech trailblazers like Sheryl Sandberg and Marissa Mayer, Geek Girl Rising introduces readers to the fearless female founders, technologists, and innovators fighting at a grassroots level for an ownership stake in the revolution that's changing the way we live, work and connect. Readers will meet Debbie Sterling, inventor of GoldieBlox, the first engineering toy for girls, which topples the notion that only boys can build; peek inside YouTube sensation Michelle Phan's ipsy studios, where she is grooming the next generation of digital video stars while leading her own mega e-commerce beauty business; and tour the headquarters of The Muse, the hottest career site for millennials, and meet its intrepid CEO, Kathryn Minshew, who stared down sexism while raising millions of dollars to fund the company she co-founded. These women are the rebels proving that a female point of view matters in the age of technology and can rock big returns if you have a big idea and the passion to build it.

This comprehensive reference covers 500 women from antiquity through to the present and from a wide range of disciplines including agriculture, astronomy, biology, botany, earth science, mathematics, medical science, technology and zoology.

When Jennifer Doudna was in sixth grade, she came home one day to find that her dad had left a paperback titled The Double Helix on her bed. She put it aside, thinking it was one of those detective tales she loved. When she read it on a rainy Saturday, she discovered she was right, in a way. As she sped through the pages, she became enthralled by the intense drama behind the competition to discover the code of life. Even though her high school counselor told her girls didn't become scientists, she decided she would. Driven by a passion to understand how nature works and to turn discoveries into inventions, she would help to make what the book's author, James Watson, told her was the most important biological advance since his codiscovery of the structure of DNA. She and her collaborators turned a curiosity of nature into an invention that will transform the human race: an easy-to-use tool that can edit DNA. Known as CRISPR, it opened a brave new world of medical miracles and moral questions. The development of CRISPR and the race to create vaccines for coronavirus will hasten our transition to the next great innovation revolution. The past half-century has been a digital age, based on the microchip, computer, and internet. Now we are entering a life-science revolution.

Written in an engaging and accessible style, this first broadly focused compensatory history of technology not only includes women's contributions but begins the long-overdue task of redefining technology and significant technology and to value these contributions correctly. Stanley traces women's inventions in five vital areas of technology worldwide--agriculture, medicine, reproduction, machines, and computers--from prehistory (or origin) forward, profiling hundreds of women, both famous and obscure. The author does not ignore theory. She contributes a paradigm for male takeovers of technologies originated by women.

All of the following were discovered or invented by women: nuclear fission, pink champagne, solar heating, the bra, drip coffee, radioactivity, the Barbie doll, pulsars, the ice cream cone. But how many of these women's names and achievements are remembered by history? Informative, poignant, and sometimes very funny, this book presents the stories of some remarkable women who did not let the odds stop them from tinkering with the way things were and coming up with something better.

African-American Slave Medicine offers a critical examination of how African-American slaves medical needs were addressed during the years before and surrounding the Civil War. Drawing upon ex-slave interviews conducted during the 1930s and 1940s by the Works Project Administration (WPA), Dr. Herbert C. Covey inventories many of the herbal, plant, and non-plant remedies used by African-American folk practitioners during slavery. He demonstrates how active the slaves were in their own medical care and the important role faith played in the healing process. This book links each referenced plant or herb to modern scientific evidence to determine its actual worth and effects on the patients. Through his study, Dr. Covey unravels many of the complex social relationships found between the African-American slaves, Whites, folk practitioners, and patients. African-American Slave Medicine is a compelling and captivating read that will appeal to scholars of African-American history and those interested in folk medicine.

Medicinal plants always plaid and important role in the maintenance of health, wellbeing, and everyday life of a population worldwide. During the centuries, plants leaves, stems, flowers, seeds, berries, and roots were used for healing and maintenance of a different pathological conditions, as well as in beauty formulas, massage applications, foods preparations and beverages. This book, which is based on a scientific findings and original research, represent a comprehensive and up to date introduction to medicinal plants from all over the world, describes their huge economic, and therapeutic potential, and analyzing different aspects of their genotoxicity, and importance for human health and homeostasis.

Discussion of Cold Damage (Shang Han Lun) and contemporary texts of ancient China form the bedrock of modern Chinese medicine practice, yet these classic texts contain many concepts that are either hard to understand or confusing. Based on over thirty years' medical practice, and study of the texts, this book explains the concepts involved so that the clinical applications of the ancient texts can be better understood and put into practice. The author looks at the larger context of ancient Chinese culture and philosophy in terms of theoretical knowledge, scholarly approach, and mindset in order to explain the basis for the medical texts. He also discusses the work of later Chinese medical scholars in elucidating the texts. He then goes on to look at more specific issues, such as the six conformations, zang-fu organ theory, the theory of qi and blood, the theory of qi transformation, and how these are understood in the ancient texts. He also discusses shao yang and tai yang theory; the element of time, and its place in understanding six conformations diseases. This remarkable work of scholarship will clarify many questions about the interpretation of the ancient texts for modern use, and will find a place on the bookshelf of every practitioner of Chinese medicine, as well as on those of scholars of Chinese medicine.

The aim of this publication is to provide up-to-date information about the recent developments in biochemical methodologies and strategies for Nigella sativa phytochemicals isolation and identification, as well as to highlight the most relevant data about its pharmacological importance in relation with its health promoting benefits actions. Because of its rich historical background, extensive researches were carried out to evidence the pharmacological effects of Nigella sativa and to explain the mechanisms behind it. Studies have shown the wide spectrum of its pharmacological effects, such as antimicrobial (especially on multiple-antibiotic resistant bacteria), nephroprotective, diuretic and antihypertensive, antidiabetic, hepatoprotective, antihyperlipidemic, anticancer activity, neuroprotective, antinociceptive, pulmonary-protective and antiasthmatic, antihistaminic, gastro-protective activity, antioxidant activity, antiinflammatory and immunomodulatory effects. The pharmacological effects are in strong correlation with the high diversity of phytochemicals (over 100 compounds). The most valuable bioactive compounds identified in Nigella sativa are thymoquinone, thymol, thymohydroquinone, retinol (vitamin A), carotenoids (?-carotene), p-cymene, carvacol, ?-pinene and ?-pinene, fatty acids (e.g., linoleic acid, oleic acid, palmitoleic acid, linolenic acid, myristoleic acid and others), sterols (e.g., ?-sitosterol, stigmasterol, campesterol) and tocopherols (?, ?, and ?). Also, Nigella sativa is a good source of minerals (calcium, phosphorus, iron, potassium, sodium, zinc, magnesium, manganese, copper, and selenium) and vitamins (vitamin A, thiamin, riboflavin, pyridoxine, niacin, folic acid, and vitamin C). The structural diversity of phytochemicals together with their health promoting benefits contributes to the high diversity of plant analysis methods like extraction, separation and detection as well as a wide variety of conditioning forms (as seeds, seed extracts, seed oil, or in different formulations, like dietary supplemental products, spices or cosmetic formulations). Also, its rich composition in bioactive compounds - together with its numerous health benefits proved over time - has contributed to the long term traditional use of Nigella sativa within traditional medicine. Taking these into account, another aim of this publication is to provide up-to-date and structured information regarding the safe use of Nigella sativa as a complementary treatment in different diseases in terms of reducing the risks and side effects of common treatments. (Nova Biomedical)

Nothing tastes better than herbs harvested fresh from the garden! Grow Your Own Herbs shares everything you need to know to grow the forty most important culinary herbs. You'll learn basic gardening information, including details on soil, watering, and potting. Profiles of 40 herbs--including popular varieties like basil, bay laurel, lemon verbena, tarragon, savory, thyme, and more--feature tasting notes, cultivation information, and harvesting tips. Additional information includes instructions for preserving and storing, along with techniques for making delicious pastes, syrups, vinegar, and butters. If you are new to gardening, have a limited space, or are looking to add fresh herbs to their daily meals, Grow Your Own Herbs is a must-have.

Healing with Herbs and Rituals is an herbal remedy-based understanding of curanderismo and the practice of yerberas, or herbalists, as found in the American Southwest and northern Mexico. Part One, "Folk Healers and Folk Healing," focuses on individual healers and their procedures. Part Two, "Green Medicine: Traditional Mexican-American Herbs and Remedies," details traditional Mexican-American herbs and cures. These remedies are the product of centuries of experience in Mexico, heavily influenced by the Moors, Judeo-Christians, and Aztecs, and include everyday items such as lemon, egg, fire, aromatic oil, and prepared water. Symbolic objects such as keys, candles, brooms, and Trouble Dolls are also used. Dedicated, in part, to curanderos throughout Mexico and the American Southwest, Healing with Herbs and Rituals shows us these practitioners are humble, sincere people who have given themselves to improving lives for many decades. Today's holistic health movement has rediscovered the timeless merits of the curanderos' uses of medicinal plants, rituals, and practical advice.

Phytochemicals are the mainstay of therapeutics of herbal or botanical medicine. Research on phytomolecules is conducted worldwide and several have been screened for clinical trials. This includes several promising anticancer phytomolectules, such as withaferin-a and camphothecin. This book provides a scientific understanding of the mode of action

Botanical Research and Practices

HERBAL MEDICINE FROM A WESTERN POINT OF VIEW Herbal remedies have become a major factor in American health care. Botanicals like Ginseng, Ma Huang, St. John's Wort, and Valerian are now household words throughout the world. Since many of these natural drugs are sold over the counter, often consumers mistakenly assume that they are completely safe. However, serious adverse effects sometimes occur, especially when taken in conjunction with prescription drugs. Conversely, pharmacists, pharmacologists, and physicians are more hesitant to accept the beneficial effects of herbal drugs without seeing scientific evidence. The Pharmacodynamic Basis of Herbal Medicine provides this evidence and addresses other important issues in a clear, easy-to-understand manner. It breaks down herbal medications to their molecular level to show how they bring about both their healing benefits and their side effects. MEDICINAL HERBS ALSO HAVE A USEFULNESS BEYOND WHAT THEIR OVER-THE-COUNTER FORMS PROVIDE. Pharmacodynamic Basis of Herbal Medicine gives you a better understanding of how natural products: Provide a number of extremely useful drugs that are difficult, if not impossible, to produce commercially by synthetic means Supply basic compounds that may be modified slightly to render them more effective or less toxic Are useful as prototypes or models for synthetic drugs possessing physiologic activities similar to the original drug Contain compounds that demonstrate little or no activity themselves but which can be modified by chemical or biological methods to produce potent drugs not easily obtained by other methods REDUCE UNWANTED SIDE EFFECTS AND ENHANCE THERAPEUTIC EFFICACY Whether they take herbal medicine for religious, philosophical, or economic reasons, Western believers are just discovering what Eastern civilizations have known for centuries. As the use of herbal remedies grows exponentially, so too does the necessity for information on how these herbs actually work. Author Manuchair Ebadi, winner of the 2004 University of North Dakota Foundation Thomas J. Clifford Faculty Achievement Award for Excellence in Research, builds the scientific bridge between Eastern and Western medicine. For a multitude of popularly used herbs it demonstrates the beneficial effects and adverse side effects of herbal drugs, showing their actions and effects on organ, tissue, cellular, and subcellular levels. By understanding and applying the information in this book, you will be able to provide safer and more effective therapeutic care.

Called the work of "a mesmerizing storyteller with deep compassion and memorable prose" (Publishers Weekly) and the book that, "anyone interested in natural history, botany, protecting nature, or Native American culture will love," by Library Journal, Braiding Sweetgrass is poised to be a classic of nature writing. As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer asks questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces indigenous teachings that consider plants and animals to be our oldest teachers. Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowledge together to take "us on a journey that is every bit as mythic as it is scientific, as sacred as it is historical, as clever as it is wise” (Elizabeth Gilbert). Drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist, a mother, and a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings offer us gifts and lessons, even if we’ve forgotten how to hear their voices.