The First Lady of Engineering

She’s the first, the first, the first…

Yvonne Y. Clark, known as Y.Y. throughout her career, has also been nicknamed “The First Lady of Engineering,” because of her groundbreaking achievements as a Black female mechanical engineer. Season 3 of Lost Women of Science traces her trajectory, from her unconventional childhood interest in fixing appliances to civil rights breakthroughs in the segregated South; from her trailblazing role at historically Black colleges and universities to her work at NASA. What can Y.Y. teach us about what it means to be the first in a scientific field, especially as a Black woman in America?  

This podcast is distributed by PRX and published in partnership with Scientific American. Season 3 art is by Tracy Mims.

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