Inventors at Hudson Yards

A series of banners created to celebrate women’s invaluable contributions to science and technology. On view at Bella Abzug Park in Hudson Yards, Spring 2019.

Each banner honors a single figure whose work shaped how the world functions today.

Dr. Flossie Wong-Staal was the first scientist to clone HIV and complete its genetic mapping, making the original HIV blood test possible and opening the door to every treatment that followed.

Dr. Patricia Bath, ophthalmologist and laser scientist, invented the Laserphaco Probe, a tool that transformed cataract surgery and has restored sight in patients who had been blind for decades. She was the first Black woman doctor to receive a medical patent.

Josephine Cochrane designed and patented the first commercially successful dishwasher in 1886, founding the company that would eventually become KitchenAid.

Shirley Ann Jackson, theoretical physicist, conducted the research that underlies caller ID, call waiting, the portable fax machine, fiber optic cables, and solar cells. She was the first Black woman to earn a doctorate from MIT.

Hedy Lamarr co-patented the frequency-hopping spread-spectrum technology that became the foundation for WiFi, GPS, and Bluetooth, alongside her career as one of the most recognizable film actors of her era.