Two of my Heroes

Hedy Lamarr

The actress who patented spread spectrum in WW11. Today the same technology is used in Cellular & mobile networks

Quotes:

• "Any girl can be glamorous. All you have to do is stand still and look stupid."

• "Films have a certain place in a certain time period. Technology is forever."

Dubbed by MGM's Louis B. Mayer as the "most beautiful girl in the world," Lamarr fled the rise of Nazism, leaving her native Austria for Hollywood in 1937.

The most fascinating chapter in her life occurred during World War II, when Lamarr and the avant garde musician George Antheil received a patent for a "secret communications system" intended for use in guiding U.S. Navy torpedoes.

Lamarr and Antheil conceived the idea of "frequency hopping" to quickly shift the radio signals of control devices, making them invulnerable to radio interference or jamming.

Truly ahead of its time, the system was never implemented by the military, in part because the technology of the time was inadequate. The system finally came into its own in the cellular telephone age. Now called "spread spectrum" instead of "frequency hopping," the basic idea is the same

Dispelling the myth that it's impossible to be both smart and sexy, Hedy is an inspiration to beautiful intelligent women everywhere. Interestingly, when advised that her efforts would be better directed towards raising money for the war effort via her massive appeal (as opposed to "hanging around the patent office"), she agreed, raising $USD7 Million at just one event.

For those who see this as evidence of sexism:
This is no way detracts from her achievements. Instead it demonstrates that she was passionately true to her CAUSE - to defeat the Nazis, whatever it took.....albeit via propaganda, fund raising or invention. This is a necessity in times of great adversity & peril. Few who have lived through world wars would disagree.

Technology is only an enabler utilised to achieve a HUMAN objective.
Hedy illustrates this beautifully.


Grace Murray Hopper

Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper (December 9, 1906 – January 1, 1992) was an American computer scientist and naval officer. Amost important people in the history of computers.

Quotes:

• "Humans are allergic to change. They love to say, 'We've always done it this way.' I try to fight that. That's why I have a clock on my wall that runs counter-clockwise."

• "We're flooding people with information. We need to feed it through a processor. A human must turn information into intelligence or knowledge. We've tended to forget that no computer will ever ask a new question."

• "You manage things, you lead people. We went overboard on management and forgot about leadership. It might help if we ran the MBAs out of Washington."

Hopper retired from the Naval Reserve with the rank of Commander at the end of 1966. She was recalled to active duty in August of 1967 for a six-month period that turned into an indefinite assignment. She again retired in 1971 but was asked to return to active duty again in 1972. She was promoted to Captain in 1973 by Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr..

After Rep. Philip Crane saw her on a March 1983 segment of 60 Minutes, he championed a joint resolution in the House of Representatives which led to her promotion to Commodore by special Presidential appointment. By 1985 she became a Rear Admiral, Lower Half. She retired (involuntarily) from the Navy on August 14, 1986. At a celebration held in Boston on the USS Constitution to celebrate her retirement, Hopper was awarded the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the highest award possible by the Department of Defense. At the moment of her retirement, she was the oldest officer in the US Navy and aboard the oldest ship in the US Navy.