Biography:
Erna Schneider Hoover was born on June 19, 1926 to her parents in Irvington, New Jersey. Her mother was a teacher and her father was a dentist. She had a sister and a younger brother who died from Polio at the young age of five. She enjoyed swimming, canoeing, and sailing, and loved science at a young age. Erna’s love for science led her to read the biography on Marie Currie where she learned that women could succeed in a scientific field despite the gender roles at the time. Hoover went on to attend Wellesley College where she studied philosophy and history. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree and honors from Wellesley College in 1948. While in college she became a member of the Phi Beta Kappa and was a Durant Scholar. Hoover went on to earn her Ph.D in philosophy and mathematics from Yale University in 1951. Hoover was a professor from 1951 to 1954 at Swarthmore College where she taught philosophy and logic. Due to her gender and marital status Hoover was unable to obtain a permanent position at the university. In 1953 she married Charles Wilson Hoover Jr. a man who was very supportive of his wife’s career and goals. In 1954 Hoover went on to work for Bell Labs where she was a senior technical associate and was later promoted in 1956. “Hoover worked on various high-level applications such as research radar control programs of the Safeguard Anti Ballistics Missile System, which were systems to intercept incoming intercontinental ballistic warheads (Pollock, 2012).” In addition to her career at Bells Labs Hoover served on the board of higher education organizations in New Jersey. Being a member on the board of Trustees for The College of New Jersey she helped increase women faculty as well as helped to enroll the best prepared high school students graduates in the state. She also helped build the college into a respected institution of higher education she did this by working hard to produce state funding. Hoover worked at Bell labs laboratory for 32 years before she retired in 1987. Hoover not only made a difference in technology but she also made a difference in her community with helping to better young adolescent future. She was a good role model to young women who may be doubting themselves especially those that wanted to pursue a career in S.T.E.M. she proved that no matter what society thought of women in the field she didn’t let that stop her from pursing her passion for science.
