Barbara Liskov

Computer Scientist and Engineer

“I was interested in doing it, there was an opportunity, so I just did it.”

Career Highlights
  • Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Head of the Programming Methodology Group at MIT
  • Widely regarded as one of the first women in the U.S. to earn a Ph.D. in Computer Science
  • Developed the idea of data abstraction, a method of inventing segmented parts that are useful in building programs
  • Won the Association for Computing Machinery’s A.M. Turing Award, one of the highest honors in science and engineering, for her pioneering work in the design of computer programming languages
  • Credits her parents for being supportive and not discouraging her when her path deviated from the more traditional careers more common among women

STEM Gems Club

Is a career in Computer Science and Engineering in your future? Are you interested in learning various computer languages to build useful software applications? STEM Gem Barbara Liskov led the design and implementation of an early programming language named CLU, the first to emphasize modular programming based on data abstraction. Read her story and digest. Watch one of her videos. Then, with your STEM Gems Tribe, discuss, explore, reflect, and act.

Videos