Women Inventors of 1990s Rice

Happy Women's History Month! March has a number of interesting national days and dedications, but women's history is among the most prominent, and perhaps even important.

This blog celebrates some of the leading women in Rice's early(-ish*) history of patents and inventors. Rice's first surge in patenting university research/inventions took place in the 1990s. While there is definitely a direct relationship to the work of Dr. Smalley, several women made their own significant contributions. 

First, Dr. Alemka Kisic, formerly of the Biosciences department. She is the first woman inventor credited on a Rice-assigned patent, in 1990. She, along with three others, invented US 4,897,475: Process for synthesis of 5α-cholest-8(14)-en-3/β-ol-15-one and other 15-oxygenated sterols. 

Molecular diagrams from US Patent 4,897,475

Dr. Kisic was even more influential outside her role as inventor. Rice annually awards the Dr. Alemka Kisic Distinguished Staff Service Award from the Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology "in recognition of exceptional leadership and devoted service" to two department members. 

Dr. Linda Torczon is the second woman on a Rice-assigned patent. She and three others invented US 5,249,295: Digital computer register allocation and code spilling using interference graph coloring.

Process flowchart from US Patent 5,249,295

In addition, Dr. Torczon earned all three of her degrees from Rice during the 1980s, and has been a part of the computer science department since 1985. Dr. Torczon's impressive dedication and loyalty to Rice computer science is paired with her outreach efforts focused on increasing the representation and presence of women and underrepresented minorities in science, especially computer sciences.  

The third woman credited on a Rice-owned patent is Dr. Laura Suggs, who worked on a Rice-owned patent while studying for her Ph.D. in chemical engineering, which was awarded in 1998. She was the lead inventor on US 5,644,005: Method of making poly(propylene fumarate-coethylene oxide). 

Molecular diagrams from US Patent 5,644,005

Presently, Dr. Suggs holds UT's biomedical engineering department's Zarrow Centennial Professorship in Engineering. She is a credited inventor on other patents, such as US 6,355,755, granted in 2002.

The last female inventor on a Rice-owned patent from the 1990s is Dr. Yildiz Bayazitoglu, lead inventor of US 5,887,018: Longitudinal electromagnetic levitator. 

Schematic representation of magnetic flux density from US Patent 5,887,018

Dr. Bayazitoglu was the inventor on an earlier patent, US 5,527,136: Mono-tripod platform, but it is assigned to the Halliburton Company. She also is credited as an inventor on two later patents issued to Rice, US 7,323,136 and US 8,034,134, which can be found in the Digital Scholarship Archive patent repository. 

She is still Rice's Harry S. Cameron Professor in Mechanical Engineering.

*For more about the confusing early history of Rice patents, see the blog entries on the true first patents, the long-assumed first patent, and the development of an IP policy.

Please also note that my research is not infallible, if a person has been missed or there are errors, please let me know so I can correct them.