Deborah Washington Brown facts for kids

Deborah Washington Brown (born June 3, 1952 – died June 5, 2020) was an American computer scientist. She was a pioneer in speech recognition research. This means she helped computers understand human voices.

Brown worked for many years at AT&T Bell Labs and other companies. She made history as the first black woman to earn a doctorate degree in computer science from Harvard University in 1981. She was one of the very first black female computer scientists to get a PhD in the United States.

Early Life and Education

Deborah Blanche Washington was born on June 3, 1952, in Washington D.C. She was the youngest of four children. She even had a twin brother named Melvin.

She went to high school at the National Cathedral School from 1966 to 1970. Deborah loved music and wanted to be a classical pianist. She started at the New England Conservatory of Music in 1970.

However, she changed her mind about a music career. In 1971, she moved to Lowell Technological Institute. There, she earned a bachelor's degree with honors in mathematics in 1975.

Later, she went to Harvard University. She earned her Master's degree in 1977 and her PhD in Applied Math in 1981. Her PhD research was about how computers handle information in programs. She was chosen to be the Commencement marshal at her Harvard graduation, which is a special honor.

Computer Science Career

Deborah Brown's first job was at Norden Systems. She helped create software for missile defense technology. This software was designed to protect against missiles.

In the late 1980s, she joined AT&T Bell Labs. She became a Member of Technical Staff, and later a Principal Member. She continued her work in speech technology at other companies until she passed away in 2020.

Brown was at the forefront of many new uses for speech recognition. Her inventions helped computers understand what people were saying. She held 11 United States Patents for her work. A patent is a special document that protects an inventor's new idea.

Her inventions included ways to collect data using automatic speech recognition (ASR). This meant computers could gather information by listening, instead of needing a person. She also found ways to fix mistakes when computers tried to understand numbers or names over the phone.

Deborah Brown also improved how computers understood what people said. She developed systems that could identify what a caller meant when they answered a specific question. She also created a "Natural Language Call Router." This system could understand what you wanted when you called, without you needing to press buttons. She even helped connect text messages with systems that could talk back to you.

Personal Life

Besides her amazing work in computer science, Deborah Brown was also a very talented classical pianist. She loved playing the piano.

Throughout her career, she kept studying and teaching piano. She even performed at Carnegie Hall, a very famous music venue. She also did very well in piano competitions.

Deborah married Ruel “Rula” Brown on May 26, 1979. They had two daughters, Laurel and LaToya.

See also

In Spanish: Deborah Washington Brown para niños