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BREAKING BARRIERS: FEMALE INVENTORS 755

Dr. Yousef is a serial entrepreneur with over ten solutions for various industries, her inventions cen-
years of experience in innovating and commercial- ter around using catalysis to convert butane into
izing technology and novel business models in the propylene to make products like diapers, eyeglasses,
cleantech and biotech sectors, pioneering many and packaging materials. Ostraat works to maximize
approaches to translate science and technology into technological innovations with commercial potential
social and environmental impact for the developing in advanced materials and nanotechnology to build
world. Yousef was a seed-stage venture investor with industries that have regional and global competitive
Battelle Ventures and Kidd & Company, investing in advantages.
and catalyzing companies around emerging technol- Cook and Kongcharoen (5) note that commer-
ogies in cleantech, biotechnology, and information cialization behavior among women and African
technology. American inventors is closer to that of all other U.S.
A common trait that guides many of our inven- inventors than previously thought. Like other female
tion ambassadors is a passion for making the world AAAS-Lemelson Invention Ambassadors, Dr. Elham
a better place. Suzie Pun (13) didn’t set out to be an Fini (16) is determined to make certain that she is
inventor. Dr. Pun was more inclined to see herself one of the women who invent and become entrepre-
as a researcher, a collaborator, and a problem-solver. neurs. She is co-founder of Bio-Adhesive Alliance
However, through her research and expertise, as evi- Inc., director of the sustainable infrastructure mate-
denced by her six patents, invention became an avenue rials lab, an associate professor, and a J. W. Fulbright
for helping others. She sees herself as an Invention Scholar at North Carolina A&T State University. One
Ambassador who represents the teams of people she of her recently patented inventions is a unique pro-
works with. As the Robert J. Rushmer Professor of cess to break down pig manure and convert it into an
Bioengineering and adjunct professor of chemical asphalt-binding adhesive, an inexpensive, plentiful,
engineering at the University of Washington, Dr. Pun and durable substance. Her invention, an innova-
contributed toward the development of drug delivery tive bio-adhesive that can be used as either a full or
vehicles that have entered clinical trials. Her research partial substitute to standard petroleum-based adhe-
group has developed methods for drug delivery to sives, led to her co-founding Bio-Adhesive Alliance
the central nervous system as well as injectable, syn- Inc. Having been raised in Iran, a frugal society where
thetic hemostats for trauma treatment (14). Like Dr. little is seen as waste, she is determined to use the
Burg, Dr. Pun credits collaboration and working with natural materials that we find in our communities
people from different disciplines for her success. She in unique ways to solve local and global problems.
notes that her trauma treatment work started with Like Fini, Dr. Sanna Gaspard (17) grew up in a
a meeting with an emergency medicine physician culture of scarcity in Saint Lucia. She credits her
who had a problem—injured persons bleeding too culture for providing her with the tools necessary
much before they could reach the emergency room. to become creative and curious and to develop the
The collaborations began and PolySTAT, a polymer ability to identify problems and solutions. Gaspard
hemostat, was born. While the trials are ongoing, the sees opportunities for change in everyday problems.
vision is that PolySTAT will be an injectable tourni- These insights helped her invent a medical device to
quet, and the potential applications are many and reduce pre-term infant deaths. Because it has been
potentially game changing. found that infant massage can help save the life of
Michele Ostraat (15) works to create a culture of a pre-term infant, Gaspard invented an automated
trust and innovation in organizations. Working in infant physiotherapy, which automates the infant
application areas such as catalysis, gas separations, massage therapy process. She then went on to invent
and corrosion resistance, she believes that multidis- the Rubitect Assessment System to assess bedsores
ciplinary teams are necessary to create impactful contracted while in the hospital because more than 37
inventions. And while she works to create excellent million people get bedsores every year, and more than
management practices and incredible teams of peo- 60,000 die as a result. Early detection can help reduce
ple in the development of nanotechnology-enabled or eliminate this $11 billion cost to U.S. hospitals