Wanda Gass is an American engineer and philanthropist who helped develop the first commercially viable digital signal processor at Texas Instruments. She is also an advocate for girls and young women pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) programs.

Wanda Gass
Born
NationalityAmerican
Alma materDuke University
Rice University
Scientific career
FieldsElectrical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering

Life

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Gass was born in Dallas, Texas in 1956, the younger of two daughters.[1][2] Citing her father as encouragement for her fledgling interest in engineering, Gass pursued membership in her high school's Explorer's Club.[1]

Education

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Gass attended Rice University and earned her BS in electrical engineering in 1978.[3] She then earned a MS in biomedical engineering from Duke University in 1980.[3]

Career

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Gass began work at Texas Instruments in 1980 as an electrical engineer.[2] Gass was heavily involved in the development of Texas Instruments first commercially viable digital signal processor (DSP) and was eventually promoted to the position of technical fellow.[4] Gass was one of the first women promoted into this role, which was the equivalent of a Vice President at Texas Instruments.[5]

Gass is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).[6] She is also the president of Design Connect Create, a non-profit group aimed at increasing young women's participation in STEM fields.[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b "WITI - Women in Technology Hall of Fame - Wanda Gass, Texas Instruments". www.witi.com. 2003. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  2. ^ a b Hatch, Sybil (1 Jan 2006). Changing Our World: True Stories of Women Engineers. ASCE Publications. p. 112.
  3. ^ a b "Design Connect Create: An Outreach Program to High School Women : Rice University Electrical and Computer Engineering". www.ece.rice.edu. 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  4. ^ "Wanda Gass of Texas Instruments named Tech Titans Community Hero Award Winner - Dallas Business Journal". Dallas Business Journal. 2 September 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  5. ^ Mary D'Ambrosio (Oct 2000), "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers", Working Mothers, 23 (9): 164
  6. ^ "Women in Engineering (WIE) - IEEE Solid-State Circuits Society". IEEE. 2016. Archived from the original on April 1, 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  7. ^ "About Us - Design Connect Create". www.designconnectcreate.org. 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
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