An Inventor With More Than 70 Patents
Tara Astigarraga is a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. She was born and raised in Arizona. At the University of Arizona she studied Spanish and communication. She thought she might become a bilingual teacher or a social worker.
Then, in her last year of college, she took an internship at IBM in Tucson, Arizona. IBM builds computers and the systems that store huge amounts of information. Tara discovered she loved solving computer problems, and IBM hired her full-time after she graduated.
Tara became an inventor. Her first patent, in 2008, was for a way to predict when a computer's flash memory is about to wear out, so information can be saved before it is lost. Since then she has earned more than 70 patents for ideas about storing data, connecting computers in networks, and keeping information secure. IBM named her a Master Inventor and a Distinguished Engineer, two of its highest honors.
Tara also mentors young people, especially Native American students and girls, to help them see that they belong in technology.
Words to Know
- inventor: A person who creates a new machine, tool, or way of doing something.
- patent: An official document that says you invented something new, so others cannot copy it without asking.
- internship: A short job where a student learns by working alongside experienced people.
