We were the class of 1959 graduating from Penn State. It was mainly men then, but we were the first class graduating 6 or 7 women. We were the best and the brightest in our field. Mechanical Engineers. It was a time of great industrial growth in the United States. All of us were so excited about our futures in design.
It wasn't easy getting into this program which has been and continues to be dominated by men. Women are thought to be less mathematically inclined. However, this is just a fallacy created by society. Easily proven statistically, few would take the time to measure society and the norms to support bogus theories.
As you can see from the pictures above we gals did enjoy a day at the beach. That's me in the middle. The other 2 Pauline (left) and Lois (right) were extremely intelligent women, but chose husbands and families over careers. Sae la vie!
Now 20 years later our class is reuniting for the first time since 1959. I normally detest such frivialities, however this may provide an opportunity for me to find a co-author for a project that I am currently immersed in. My field of knowledge is medical devices. Brain stimulation has interested me since my brother came home from Vietnam with a traumatic brain injury that left him partially paralyzed.
My husband who was also in this graduating class went on to get his medical degree. We often try to imagine what life would be like if only we had a greater understanding of the human brain.
Once we are able to test our device on humans we will be better able to determine the range of function in certain areas of the brain. By using mild electronic sensors we can remotely influence these sensors to stimulate physical movement.
In closing dedication to my work and reuniting with old classmates may help to produce the answers to one of my most ambitious projects.
Photos courtesy of https://www.pexels.com/ and text is owned by @mother2chicks