Judy Clapp facts for kids

Judith A. Clapp (born in 1930) is an amazing computer scientist. She started her career at the famous Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Later, she worked at the Lincoln Laboratory and then at MITRE. At MITRE, she was a key leader for a big military project. This project was called the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE). She even helped create the special SAGE computer for this important project.

Early Life and Education

Judy Clapp was born in 1930. She grew up in Long Island, New York. In 1951, she earned her first degree from Smith College. This degree was in math and physics. In 1952, she got her master's degree from Radcliffe College. Radcliffe College was a women's college linked to Harvard University. She studied something called applied science. She said this was the closest thing to computer science back then.

Building Computers and Software

After finishing college, Clapp started working at MIT. She was the only woman among the first programmers for the Whirlwind I. This was one of the very first real-time computers. The Whirlwind was a huge machine. It used many vacuum tubes. The United States Navy first asked for this computer. But later, the Air Force paid for it. They used it for the SAGE project.

Clapp kept working on the SAGE project. She moved with the project to the Lincoln Laboratory. Then she moved to the MITRE Corporation. She became a Senior Principal Software Systems Engineer at MITRE. This means she was a top leader in designing computer programs. After the SAGE project, Clapp continued to work in management at MITRE. She also joined a special group for the United States Department of Defense. This group helped create the Ada programming language. Ada is a computer language often used for military systems.

Her Important Legacy

Judy Clapp's work is very important. It helped create the field of software engineering. This is the study of how to build computer programs. She was also involved in early groups for women in computing. She is known as a pioneer among women in this field. A pioneer is someone who is one of the first to do something.

In 2001, Clapp received an Achievement Award. This award was from the Society of Women Engineers. In 2005, she received the Smith College Medal. Her work on the SAGE project was also talked about. It was featured in a book called "Recoding Gender: Women's Changing Participation in Computing."