Ireland’s Greatest Woman Inventor competition wants young people’s votes


8 Jul 2013

The 10 finalists in Silicon Republic's Ireland's Greatest Woman Inventor competition

A trip to US space agency NASA’s Space Center Houston in Texas, a visit to Intel Museum in Silicon Valley, California, and two days in San Francisco, California, all make up one grand prize that’s up for grabs for one young person who selects Ireland’s Greatest Woman Inventor in Silicon Republic’s new competition.

What’s more, a parent/guardian and a friend or other family member can go along, too!

Ten Irish women who have made a pioneering mark in science, engineering, maths and technology make up the list of finalists in the Ireland’s Greatest Woman Inventor competition: Kay McNulty Mauchly Antonelli, Lilian Bland, Agnes Clerke, Phyllis Clinch, Margaret Lindsay Huggins, Cynthia Longfield, Kathleen Lonsdale, Annie Maunder, Dorothy Stopford Price, and Alicia Boole Stott.

Our final shortlist was curated by science historian and author Mary Mulvihill of Ingenious Ireland, so many thanks go to her.

The competition is open to 12-18-year-old residents of the Republic of Ireland. To be in with a chance to win the trip of a lifetime, all they have to do is read up on the finalists and then vote on the competition page for their favourite – who they think is Ireland’s Greatest Woman Inventor. Parents/guardians may vote on behalf of their child.

We are most grateful to Intel for providing the fantastic top prize. There are prizes for runner-ups, too, courtesy of Microsoft – a Microsoft Surface RT tablet computer and a Nokia Lumia 820 smartphone.

The competition is open until 5pm on 22 August 2013. One grand-prize winner will be chosen at random before 30 August from those who voted for the winning woman inventor.

The winner, once contacted, will be announced in September, and needs to be available to travel during mid-term break in February 2014.

Women Invent Tomorrow is Silicon Republic’s year-long campaign to champion the role of women in science, technology, engineering and maths