Beauty and brains are often considered to be polar opposites in society. The stereotypical genius is a man with glasses and a calculator while the token beauty is a woman with curves and a smile that would bring a man to his knees. Women are somewhat cursed by their looks. They are either unattractive and ignored, average and well liked, or gorgeous and envied. Men are well liked for qualities unrelated to their physical appearance, though a handsome man does have some perks in life. Imagining a woman whom is both beauty and brains is easy enough. Finding the real thing is hard.
Hedy Lamarr was a Hollywood starlet in the 30s and 40s. She was considered "The Most Beautiful Woman in the World". Onscreen sex symbol with a giant secret. She was as brilliant as she was beautiful. Hedy befriended a composer named George Antheil and together they set out to patent their idea for "a secret communications system" to help the Allied forces win WWII.
Their device was a torpedo guidance system to make torpedoes more accurate and to cycle between 88 frequencies to discourage enemy detection and jamming. Though the patent was granted to Lamarr and Antheil, their invention was never put into production. Hedy felt discouraged and tried to join the National Inventors Council, NIC, but was told her time was better spent selling War Bonds. Her beauty was her downfall. Nobody took her intellect seriously and her invention was not rediscovered until the 60s.
Lamarr was not even acknowledged for her patent until after her death. She is now considered one of the famous inventors for her early work in "frequency hopping". The concept is still in use today in Bluetooth devices and WiFi connections. In fact, one could say her work was integral to today's technology.
Hedy Lamarr was a woman of many talents and I admire her for all she had to offer the world. She gives me a sense of pride in myself as I step into the male dominant field of engineering. I can look to her for the strength to pursue my ideas and push for them to be acknowledged by the rest of my peers. Hedy was tenacious and she taught me to be tenacious too.
Any and all help is appreciated!
Hedy Lamarr was a Hollywood starlet in the 30s and 40s. She was considered "The Most Beautiful Woman in the World". Onscreen sex symbol with a giant secret. She was as brilliant as she was beautiful. Hedy befriended a composer named George Antheil and together they set out to patent their idea for "a secret communications system" to help the Allied forces win WWII.
Their device was a torpedo guidance system to make torpedoes more accurate and to cycle between 88 frequencies to discourage enemy detection and jamming. Though the patent was granted to Lamarr and Antheil, their invention was never put into production. Hedy felt discouraged and tried to join the National Inventors Council, NIC, but was told her time was better spent selling War Bonds. Her beauty was her downfall. Nobody took her intellect seriously and her invention was not rediscovered until the 60s.
Lamarr was not even acknowledged for her patent until after her death. She is now considered one of the famous inventors for her early work in "frequency hopping". The concept is still in use today in Bluetooth devices and WiFi connections. In fact, one could say her work was integral to today's technology.
Hedy Lamarr was a woman of many talents and I admire her for all she had to offer the world. She gives me a sense of pride in myself as I step into the male dominant field of engineering. I can look to her for the strength to pursue my ideas and push for them to be acknowledged by the rest of my peers. Hedy was tenacious and she taught me to be tenacious too.
Any and all help is appreciated!
