These winning entries in the 2023 EngineerGirl Writing Contest showcase how female and/or non-white engineers have contributed to or can enhance engineering’s great achievements. Congratulations to all winners and finalists!
Shriya Madhavan
5th grade at STEM School Highlands Ranch (Highlands Ranch, Colorado)
Hedy Lamarr – The Visionary Inventor and Mother of Wi-Fi
First Place
Modesola Adebayo-Ogunlade
5th grade at The Geneva School of Manhattan (New York City, New York)
Dr. Patricia Bath and the laserphaco probe
Second Place
Nethara Mahadanaarachchi
5th grade at New Albany Intermediate School (New Albany, Ohio)
Honorable Mention
A Pioneer in Kevlar Innovation by Jacqueline Zhao
5th grade (Salem, Oregon)
Gwynne Shotwell: The Greatest Engineer by Elena Cardona Cabrera
4th grade at the International School of Monterrey (Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico)
The Curious Scientist-Engineer Who Brought Imaging to the Wounded by Zora Miller
5th grade at Albany International Center (Albany, New York)
Benjamin Wu
7th grade at Narrows View Intermediate (University Place, Washington)
Diversity and Inclusion in Engineering: The Impact of Dr. Patricia Bath's Legacy
First Place
Erica Joseph
6th grade at Indus International School (Bangalore, Karnataka, India)
Healing through Innovation: Doctors Embracing their Inner Engineer
Second Place
Sahana Ranganathan
7th grade at Kealing Middle School (Austin, Texas)
Admiral Grace Hopper: A Reminder of Why Diversity in Engineering is the Future
Honorable Mention
Patricia Bath: A Unique Perspective on Vision by Elise Amara
7th grade at Harpeth Hall School (Nashville, Tennessee)
The Story of Diversity by Lauren Kim
6th grade at Churchill Road Elementary School (McLean, Virginia)
Changing the World through Nuclear Fission by Hally Hallare
8th grade Homeschool student (Newport News, Virginia)
Mae Jemison: The First African American Woman Engineer in Space by Sufyana Johnson
6th grade at Westland Middle School (Bethesda, Maryland)
Empowering Women to Genetically Engineer 21st Century Crops by Anya Pathak
7th grade at Edgemont Jr./Sr. High School (Scarsdale, New York)
Tami Shogbola
Cheltenham Ladies' College (London, England, United Kingdom)
The Luxury of Water: To Be or Not To Be
First Place
Sara Maltempi
11th grade at John F. Kennedy High School (Merrick, New York)
Arun Cherian: Creating High-Quality Yet Affordable Prosthetics for Amputees in India
Second Place
Aneesha Kocharlakota
9th grade at American High School
Using Virtual Reality to Prevent Erb's Palsy
Third Place
Nicole Nguyen
11th grade at El Capitan High School (Merced, California)
Going Bananas Over Bioengineering
Honorable Mention
Overcoming Blindness in Imaging Science by Elaine Gao
11th grade at Jenks High School (Tulsa, Oklahoma)
Fixing the Pulse Oximeter by Lina Cambardella
10th grade at Hauppauge High School (Hauppauge, New York)
Engineering Solutions: For All, By All by Manya Kumar
10th grade at Carlmont High School (Belmont, California)
Engineering Our Future: Diversity in Medicine by Anna Slade
12th grade at Ashalnd High School (Ashland, Ohio)
Taking a Shot Against Vaccine Inequality by Claire Liu
11th grade at Choate Rosemary Hall (Wallingford, Connecticut)
Breaking the Bias: The Impact of Women in AI Development by Nashla Turcios
11th grade at New West Charter (Los Angeles, California)