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| 6 | 7 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 7 | 8 | | WHEREAS, Texas Women in STEM Day is taking place on March 14, |
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| 8 | 9 | | 2026, and this occasion offers a welcome opportunity to honor those |
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| 9 | 10 | | Texas women who have dedicated their lives to the advancement of |
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| 10 | 11 | | science, technology, engineering, and mathematics; and |
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| 11 | 12 | | WHEREAS, Among the Texas women who have made their mark in |
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| 12 | 13 | | STEM is Frances "Poppy" Northcutt, the first female engineer to |
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| 13 | 14 | | have worked in NASA's Mission Control; in 1967, she joined NASA's |
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| 14 | 15 | | Johnson Space Center in Houston as a member of the Apollo 8 mission |
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| 15 | 16 | | control team, and she worked as a flight controller for the |
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| 16 | 17 | | Apollo 8, Apollo 10, Apollo 11, and Apollo 13 missions, serving on a |
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| 17 | 18 | | team that provided mission oversight and real-time support for |
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| 18 | 19 | | astronauts; during her inspiring career with NASA, she was |
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| 19 | 20 | | instrumental in ensuring the success of the mission that placed |
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| 20 | 21 | | humans in lunar orbit for the first time; and |
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| 21 | 22 | | WHEREAS, Elise Harmon was an American physicist, chemist, and |
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| 22 | 23 | | professor who played a vital role in developing the technology |
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| 23 | 24 | | behind the modern-day computer; an alumna of the University of |
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| 24 | 25 | | North Texas and The University of Texas at Austin, she went on to |
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| 25 | 26 | | become involved in aircraft and electrical projects at the United |
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| 26 | 27 | | States Naval Research Laboratory, where her research on carbon |
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| 27 | 28 | | brushes strengthened the U.S. military effort against Germany |
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| 28 | 29 | | during World War II; later, she served as a chief research engineer |
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| 29 | 30 | | at Aerovax and introduced a new method for creating printed |
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| 30 | 31 | | circuits that became a key advancement in the manufacture of |
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| 31 | 32 | | electronics; and |
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| 32 | 33 | | WHEREAS, Leah Moncure, a Bastrop native, was the first woman |
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| 33 | 34 | | engineer in the State of Texas; in 1938, after attending The |
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| 34 | 35 | | University of Texas and working at an engineering firm, she made |
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| 35 | 36 | | history by earning her professional engineering license, and she |
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| 36 | 37 | | remained the only registered female engineer on the state's roster |
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| 37 | 38 | | for approximately 15 years; she went on to become the first female |
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| 38 | 39 | | engineer to work for the Texas Department of Transportation, as |
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| 39 | 40 | | well as the first to be granted life membership in the National |
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| 40 | 41 | | Society of Professional Engineers; and |
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| 41 | 42 | | WHEREAS, Born in Houston to Mexican American parents, Ruth |
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| 42 | 43 | | Gonzalez obtained a degree from UT Austin and she subsequently |
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| 43 | 44 | | earned the distinction of being the first Hispanic American woman |
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| 44 | 45 | | to receive a doctorate in applied mathematics from Rice University; |
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| 45 | 46 | | as an expert in seismic imaging methods and geophysical math, she |
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| 46 | 47 | | was a longtime employee at ExxonMobil in its production research |
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| 47 | 48 | | company; during her tenure there, she was instrumental in |
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| 48 | 49 | | persuading the corporation to fund community- and minority-focused |
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| 49 | 50 | | outreach programs; and |
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| 50 | 51 | | WHEREAS, These four women contributed to their respective |
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| 51 | 52 | | fields in ways that changed the world, and through their |
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| 52 | 53 | | achievements as some of our state's pioneers in STEM, they have |
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| 53 | 54 | | broken down barriers and opened doors of opportunity for those who |
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| 54 | 55 | | aspire to follow in their footsteps; now, therefore, be it |
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| 55 | 56 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas |
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| 56 | 57 | | Legislature hereby recognize March 14, 2026, as Texas Women in STEM |
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| 57 | 58 | | Day and pay tribute to all the women in STEM, past and present, who |
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| 58 | 59 | | have brought pride to our state through their commitment to |
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| 59 | 60 | | professional excellence, technological progress, and innovation. |
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