The National Inventors Hall of Fame for the first time in 50 years is set to induct two Black women, Engineer Marian Croak Vice President of Engineering at Google and leading ophthalmologist Dr. Patricia Bath, whose inventions forever changed cataract surgery. She died in 2019 at age 76.
The duo will join the 48 female inductees and 30 Black male inductees, both living and dead, already included among those honored by the NIHF.
Marian Rogers Croak previously served as Senior Vice President of Research and Development at AT&T and is credited as a developer of Voice over Internet Protocol- the technology behind audio and video conferencing, patenting more than 200 innovations over the course of her career.
“It’s humbling, and a great experience,” Croak, said in an interview with the company about her selection. “At the time I never thought the work that I was doing was that significant and that it would lead to this, but I’m so I’m very grateful for the recognition.”
Croak is being honored for her work in advancing “Voice over Internet Protocol,” and also created the “text-to-donate” system for charities, which raised $130,000 in the aftermath of New Orleans’ Hurricane Katrina and $43 million after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, according to the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
“I have always been motivated by the desire to change the world, and to do that I try to change the world that I’m currently in,” Croak told Google. “What I mean by that is I work on problems that I am aware of, and that I can tackle within the world that surrounds me.”
The late Dr. Bath will also join the Hall of Fame’s upcoming inductee class for her creation of the Laserphaco Probe — a device and technique used to remove cataracts. She is the first Black woman physician to ever receive a medical patent, and secured five total patents, according to the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
“I was not seeking to be the first, I was only attempting to do my thing,” Bath told TIME Magazine in 2017 about her invention. “It’s only when history looks back that you realize you were the first.”
The National Inventors Hall of Fame will honor the class of 2022 at an induction ceremony on May 5 at The Anthem in Washington, D.C. Other inductees include the inventors of sports bras, ibuprofen and the modern automobile. They will join the ranks of inventors Thomas Edison, Steve Jobs, the Wright brothers and Eli Whitney.
“At the National Inventors Hall of Fame we are privileged to honor our country’s most significant inventors, who are giving the next generation the inspiration to innovate, create, and solve current and future problems,” Inventors Hall of Fame CEO Michael Oister said in a statement.
