Cerritos Library Study Room Names Voting Survey

The community is invited to vote for three new Cerritos Library Study Room names. The rooms will be renamed after women. This survey will be available until 5 p.m. on Tuesday, October 31, 2023.

The Cerritos City Council approved the renaming project in response to a suggestion from members of the local community. All of the Study Rooms currently feature names of men.

Survey participants can vote for up to three of the following names: Louisa May Alcott, Susan B. Anthony, Rachel Carson, Marie Curie, Mary Golda Ross, Katherine Johnson, Ursula K. Le Guin, Sally Ride, Ida B. Wells-Barnett and Chien-Shiung Wu. The list includes suggestions from the community members and women who are featured by the Smithsonian Institution and Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum. Biographical information is from the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Question Title

* 1. Please select up to three names from the following list.

Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888)
The entrance to the Cerritos Library’s area for children is framed by over-sized books. One of the books is “Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott.

U.S. author Louisa May Alcott is best known for her novel “Little Women.” The book was based on her own experience growing up in a close-knit New England family. It is one of several of her stories that are still cherished by young readers.

Alcott was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, on November 29, 1832. She grew up in Boston and Concord, Massachusetts. Alcott received most of her schooling from her father, who was a teacher and philosopher. She began writing at a young age. By the 1860s her poems and stories were being published in “The Atlantic Monthly” magazine.

Alcott published “Little Women” in 1868. The book was instantly popular with younger readers, and it remains a favorite today. Alcott’s other books for young readers include “Little Men” (1871) and “Jo’s Boys” (1886).

Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906)
In the 1800s women in the United States fought to gain equal rights with men. One of the leaders of that movement was Susan B. Anthony. Susan Brownell Anthony was born on February 15, 1820, in Adams, Massachusetts. When she was 6 years old her family moved to Battenville, New York. As a young woman she taught school.

In the 1850s Anthony became involved in both the temperance movement, which fought alcohol abuse, and the abolitionist movement, which sought to end slavery. She traveled widely, spoke at public meetings, and began to take an interest in women’s issues.

At the time, women in the United States did not have the right to vote. To fight this injustice, Anthony and her friend Elizabeth Cady Stanton formed the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) in 1869.

To draw attention to the struggle, Anthony tried to vote in the 1872 presidential election. She was arrested, but she refused to pay her fine. In 1890 the NWSA merged with another group to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association. Anthony was president from 1892 to 1900.
Anthony died on March 13, 1906, in Rochester, New York. In 1920 the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution gave voting rights to women in all states.

Rachel Carson (1907-1964)
Rachel Carson was an American scientist and writer who studied the natural world, especially the sea. Her book “Silent Spring” convinced many people that the environment needed better protection. For that reason, she is sometimes called the mother of the environmental movement. Carson went to Pennsylvania College for Women (later Chatham University). She studied English at first, but soon switched to science. After graduating in 1929, she earned an advanced degree in zoology from Johns Hopkins University. She continued her studies at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

In the 1930s Carson began writing radio scripts and articles on sea life. From 1936 to 1952, she worked as a biologist and editor for the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries (later the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service). Carson became known as an excellent science writer. She published three books on the ocean that were widely read: “Under the Sea-Wind” (1941), “The Sea Around Us” (1951) and “The Edge of the Sea” (1955). People found Carson’s works to be scientifically accurate and beautifully written.

Carson’s most famous book, “Silent Spring,” was published in 1962. In the book, Carson warned that pesticides and other chemicals could spread throughout the food chain. This pollution not only harmed wildlife; it also could affect humans.

Another book by Carson, “The Sense of Wonder,” was published after her death. It encouraged parents and children to explore the outdoors.

Marie Curie (1867-1937)
Marie Curie was a Polish-French scientist who won two Nobel prizes. Her work focused on radioactivity. Curie helped to discover two radioactive elements, polonium and radium. She also successfully isolated radium from the rock in which it is found. Science, medicine and industry soon found important uses for these elements. For example, radium was used for many years to treat cancer.

Curie was born in Warsaw, Poland, which was then under Russian rule. Her parents were teachers who valued education. But women in Poland could not get university degrees. So, Maria and her sister, Bronislawa, saved enough money to study in France. In 1891 Maria entered the Sorbonne, a university in Paris. She began calling herself Marie. Within three years, Curie completed degrees in physics and math. She began working with a French scientist, Pierre Curie, whom she married in 1895.
In 1896 a French scientist named Henri Becquerel discovered the unusual rays of energy given off by the element uranium. Curie began studying the phenomenon, which she named radioactivity. In 1898 the Curies announced their discovery of radium and polonium. They named polonium after Marie’s homeland of Poland. In 1903 the Curies shared the Nobel Prize for Physics with Becquerel.

After Pierre died in 1906, Marie carried on their research. She also became the first woman professor at the Sorbonne. In 1911 she won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for isolating pure radium. During World War I, Curie helped to build a car that carried X-ray equipment to doctors treating wounded soldiers. After the war, she continued her study of radioactive substances and their use in medicine. Her Radium Institute in Paris became an important center of scientific research.

Katherine Johnson (1918-2020)
Katherine Johnson was an American mathematician. She made important contributions to the United States space program during her career at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Her work helped send astronauts to the Moon.

Katherine Coleman was born on August 26, 1918, in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Her intelligence and skill with numbers became obvious when she was a child. She was in high school by the time she was 10 years old. She graduated from West Virginia State College in 1937 with highest honors and then took a teaching job in Virginia.

In 1939 she was selected to be one of the first three African American students to enroll in a graduate program at West Virginia University. She studied math, but soon left to take care of her family. She had married James Goble that year. He died in 1956. (She later married James Johnson.)

In 1953 Johnson began work at the West Area Computing Unit of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). The West Computers, as they were known, was a group of African American women. They studied data from tests and provided mathematical computations that were essential to the success of the U.S. space program. The West Computers were segregated from white workers. They were forced to use separate bathrooms and dining facilities. That changed when NACA became NASA in 1958.

At NASA Johnson was a member of the Space Task Group. She calculated the flight path for the spacecraft that put the first U.S astronaut in space in 1961. The year before she had coauthored a paper with an engineer. It was the first time a woman in her division received credit as an author of a research report. She authored or coauthored 26 research reports during her career.

In 1962 John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth. However, before he left the ground, he wanted to make sure the electronic computer had planned the flight correctly. He asked to have Johnson double check the computer’s calculations. Johnson was also part of the team that calculated where and when the rocket would be launched that would send the first three men to the moon. Johnson also worked on the space shuttle program. She retired from NASA in 1986. Johnson died on February 24, 2020.

Johnson received many awards and honors. In 2015 she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States. NASA honored her in 2016 by naming a building, the Katherine G. Johnson Computational Research Facility, after her. That year the book “Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race” was published. It tells the story of the West Computers, including Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson. A motion picture based on the book was also released in 2016.

Ursula K. Le Guin (1929–2018)
American author Ursula K. Le Guin was featured in a Smithsonian article about futurists and science fiction authors. She wrote novels, short stories, essays, poetry and children’s books. She was best known for tales of science fiction and fantasy, which often feature highly detailed descriptions of alien societies. Her skillful writing and insightful perceptions attracted a large audience.

Le Guin was born Ursula Kroeber on October 21, 1929, in Berkeley, California. She received a bachelor’s degree from Radcliffe College in Massachusetts in 1951 and a master’s degree from Columbia University in New York the next year. She married Charles A. Le Guin in 1953.

Le Guin’s first three published novels were “Rocannon’s World” (1966), “Planet of Exile” (1966) and “City of Illusions” (1967). In “The Dispossessed” (1974) Le Guin examined two neighboring worlds that are home to opposing societies, both of which stifle freedom in particular ways. The destruction of indigenous peoples on a planet colonized by Earth is the focus of “The Word for World Is Forest” (1972).

Le Guin also wrote fantasy books for young adults. The Earthsea series examines the growth of Ged from a young boy attending wizard school to an adult fighting evil wizards. The series includes “A Wizard of Earthsea” (1968), “The Tombs of Atuan” (1970) and “The Farthest Shore” (1972). Le Guin later wrote “Tehanu” (1990) and “Tales from Earthsea” and “The Other Wind” (both 2001) to complete the series. The “Annals of the Western Shore” series was also for young adults. The coming-of-age novels follow a group of teenagers who must learn to accept and wisely use their special powers. The series includes the books “Gifts” (2004), “Voices” (2006) and “Powers” (2007).

Le Guin’s books for younger children include “Fish Soup” and “A Ride on the Red Mare’s Back,” both published in 1992. Le Guin wrote a series of books about cats with wings, including “Wonderful Alexander and the Catwings” (1994) and “Catwings Return” and “Jane on Her Own” (both published in 1999). “Fire and Stone” (1989), “Tom Mouse” (1998) and “Cat Dreams” (2009) are picture books.

Le Guin also wrote many essays on fantasy fiction, feminist issues, writing and other topics. Some of these are collected in “The Language of the Night” (1979), “Dancing at the Edge of the World” (1989), “Steering the Craft” (1998), “The Wave in the Mind” (2004) and “Words Are My Matter” (2016). “No Time to Spare: Thinking About What Matters” (2017) is a selection of personal essays that originally appeared on her blog. Le Guin’s volumes of poetry include “Wild Angels” (1975), “Wild Oats and Fireweed” (1988), “Going Out with Peacocks, and Other Poems” (1994), “Incredible Good Fortune” (2006) and “Finding My Elegy: New and Selected Poems 1960–2010” (2012).

Le Guin won numerous awards for her work, including several Hugo Awards from the World Science Fiction Society and Nebula Awards from the Science Fiction a

Sally Ride (1951-2012)
Sally Ride was a United States astronaut. In 1983 she became the first U.S. woman to travel into outer space. Sally Kristen Ride was born on May 26, 1951, in Encino, California. She attended Stanford University in California, where she earned bachelor’s degrees in English and in physics in 1973 and a master’s in physics in 1975. While working on her doctorate, also at Stanford, Ride was chosen by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to be one of six women astronaut candidates. She received her doctorate in physics in 1978 and completed the astronaut training program in 1979.
After completing her training, Ride worked as a space shuttle mission specialist. On June 18, 1983, Ride made her first voyage into outer space aboard the space shuttle Challenger. Ride took a second trip aboard the Challenger in 1984.

Ride later worked as director of the California Space Institute and as a professor of physics at the University of California, San Diego. Ride wrote several children’s books about outer space. She also dedicated her time to programs or organizations that worked to promote science in education, especially helping girls interested in STEM. She died on July 23, 2012, in La Jolla, California.

Ride was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013. She was one of five women to be chosen for the American Women Quarters Program in 2022. The program honors women who have made a contribution to the country in a variety of fields. Ride’s quarter features her likeness, with Earth in the background.

Mary Golda Ross (1908-2008)
Mary Golda Ross was a Native American engineer. She was a member of the Cherokee tribe. She was also the first Native American engineer in the United States space program. Ross was born on August 9, 1908, in Park Hill, Oklahoma. She was a great-great granddaughter of the Cherokee chief John Ross. She was a gifted child, so she was sent to live with her grandparents and attend school in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, the capital of the Cherokee Nation. She enrolled at Northeastern State Teacher’s College (now Northeastern State University) in Tahlequah when she was 16 years old. She received a mathematics degree in 1928. Ross taught math and science for nine years in high schools. In 1938 Ross earned a master’s degree in mathematics at what is now the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. She then moved to California.

In 1942, during World War II, Ross began working at Lockheed, a company that designed airplanes and worked closely with the U.S. military. Ross helped design a fighter airplane. After the war Lockheed sent Ross to earn a professional certificate in engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles. In 1952 Ross joined Lockheed’s Skunk Works, a top-secret project that worked with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on space flight, satellites and space travel. At the time Ross was the only woman and the only Native American on Skunk Works’ team of 40 engineers. Among many other projects, she worked on studies related to manned satellite missions, the effect of underwater explosions on submarines, and reentry into Earth’s atmosphere. Ross wrote a number of professional works and was one of the authors of the NASA Planetary Flight Handbook Vol. III, about space travel to Mars and Venus.

Ross retired in 1973 at the age of 65. She then worked to recruit the next generation of Native Americans and women in engineering. In 2004 she joined 25,000 Native Americans at the opening of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. Ross died on April 29, 2008, in Los Altos, California.

Ross was honored by many organizations before and after her death. In 1992 Ross was named to the Silicon Valley Engineering Council’s Hall of Fame. In 2018 a middle school in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, was renamed in her honor as Mary Golda Ross Middle School. She was inducted into the Women in Aviation International Pioneer Hall of Fame in 2019. That year Ross was featured on the reverse side of the Sacagawea dollar coin.

Ida B. Wells-Barnett (1862-1931)
Ida B. Wells-Barnett was a writer and public speaker in the United States during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Her speeches and writings tell a shocking story of the killing of African Americans in attacks called lynchings. Wells was born on July 16, 1862, in Holly Springs, Mississippi. Her parents were enslaved. Wells’ family gained their freedom after the American Civil War ended in 1865.

Wells was about 16 years old when both her parents died. Wells then looked after the rest of her family. She taught school to earn money. As a young woman, Wells moved to Memphis, Tennessee. There she fought racial segregation—the forced separation of the races. In 1884 she refused to leave a railroad car that was reserved for whites. One of the railroad workers dragged her from the car. Wells began writing articles against segregation in African American newspapers. She soon became a part owner of a newspaper.

Wells started writing about lynching in 1892. Wells wrote and spoke in public about lynchings so that people would know what had really happened. She wanted people to become angry and put a stop to lynching. Wells eventually moved to Chicago, Illinois, where she married Ferdinand L. Barnett in 1895. Besides fighting lynching, Wells-Barnett worked for women’s right to vote. She also helped to found the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Chien-Shiung Wu (1912-1997)
Chien-Shiung Wu was a Chinese-born American physicist. Her work led to important discoveries in nuclear physics. Wu was born on May 29, 1912, in Liuhe, Jiangsu province, China. She was educated at a school started by her father. She graduated from the National Central University in Nanjing, China, in 1936. She then traveled to the United States to study physics. Wu received a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1940. She became a U.S. citizen in 1954.

After graduate school Wu taught physics at Smith College and at Princeton University. During part of World War II (1939–1945) she worked on the Manhattan Project. She worked on radiation detection and also helped develop the process to produce uranium for bombs. Wu is believed to have been the only Chinese person to have worked on the Manhattan Project.

After the war Wu became a research associate at Columbia University in New York. In 1958 she became a full professor and remained at Columbia for the rest of her career. Wu researched a process in nuclear physics known as beta decay and made significant contributions to its study. In 1956 two other physicists, Tsung-Dao Lee and Chen Ning Yang, asked her to use her expertise in beta decay to conduct an experiment that could prove a theory they had. Wu carried out the experiment—now known as the Wu Experiment—and succeeded in proving their theory. This groundbreaking work earned Lee and Yang the 1957 Nobel Prize in Physics. However, Wu’s work, which was essential in proving their theory, was ignored. Her book “Beta Decay,” published in 1965, is still an important reference book for nuclear physicists. Wu also did important research in the field of biology. She studied the change in hemoglobin associated with the disease sickle cell anemia.

Wu received many awards and honors during her career. She was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1958, the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1969 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1972. In 1975 Wu became the first woman to serve as president of the American Physical Society. She also received the National Medal of Science that year. Wu was the first living scientist to have an asteroid named after her.