Big Ideas, Historic Breakthroughs

Norma Merrick Sklarek was one of the first Black female architects in America who helped build iconic structures across the country.

Dr. Farouk El-Baz, an Egyptian American scientist and geologist, played a crucial role in helping NASA plan the Apollo program.

Without their sister, Katharine, the Wright brothers may have never taken flight.

Out of the ashes of the Great Chicago Fire came a new and better way to build.

By the 1990s, synthetic voices for computers and the disabled were mostly male until researcher Ann Syrdal helped develop the first functional female synthetic voice, paving the way for AI assistants like Siri.

Born from supermarkets' need to speed up checkout, the bar code revolutionized market research and boosted production efficiency.