AAUW FL Tech Trek

10/13/2026

10/12/2026

10/06/2026

10/04/2026

Every time your phone tells you where you are, it is using a mathematical model of the shape of the Earth.

A Black woman from rural Virginia spent decades building that model by hand, and almost nobody knew her name until she was in her eighties.

Gladys West. She grew up in a sharecropping family in Dinwiddie County and understood early that the alternatives were the to***co fields or the factory. She finished top of her high school class, which came with a scholarship, and took it.

Her work was satellite geodesy: taking the raw data coming down from orbit and using it to compute, correction by correction, the true irregular shape of the Earth. Not a sphere. Not even a neat ellipsoid. A lumpy thing with gravitational highs and lows.

That model is the foundation the Global Positioning System sits on. You cannot locate a point on a surface until you know precisely what the surface is.

She did this for decades, largely unremarked, and retired in 1998.

She was recognised in 2018, when her sorority mentioned her biography at a function and someone realised what was in it.

The Air Force inducted her into its Space and Missile Pioneers Hall of Fame. She earned a PhD in her seventies.

10/03/2026

“School was not easy for me.”

Medicine laureate Carol Greider achieved success in molecular biology in the same way she overcame dyslexia as a child: with persistence and creativity. She discovered telomerase, an enzyme that is key to the ageing process and the growth of cancer cells, and has major implications for medical research.

Who will be awarded the medicine prize this year? Connect with millions worldwide for the announcements of the 2026 Nobel Prizes, on 5-12 October. We'll be streaming live on our social channels, YouTube and nobelprize.org.

09/13/2026

Kathy and Susie are keeping the Tech Trek torch lit! You can help send a girl to Tech Trek camp by donating at http://flaglercounty-fl.AAUW.net. We’re tenacious and trailblazing! ⚛️👩‍🔬🧪😍

09/09/2026

09/05/2026

This week, Dr. Brooke was at the Sea Turtle Hospital for complete veterinary examinations of all our patients and she had the opportunity to meet our newest arrival, Lightning Bug!

Lightning Bug arrived last Friday after being found washed ashore, debilitated, and with a significant fibropapillomatosis (FP) tumor burden. Since arriving at the hospital, our veterinary and animal care teams have been closely monitoring Lightning Bug’s health, including bloodwork.

Initial bloodwork showed elevated kidney values, so we began supportive care with fluid therapy to help support kidney function. During this week’s comprehensive examination, Dr. Brooke performed an ultrasound of Lightning Bug’s kidneys to take a closer look at their structure and function.

The ultrasound findings, together with Lightning Bug’s bloodwork, are supportive of kidney disease. We’ll continue to closely monitor Lightning Bug, with repeat bloodwork planned to track those kidney values. Lightning Bug is also scheduled for a CT scan next week, which will give our veterinary team even more information to help us understand what’s happening internally and determine the best course of treatment.

One of the most exciting additions to our new hospital has been our veterinary ultrasound system. Having this technology available allows our veterinary team to non-invasively evaluate internal organs and soft tissues in real time, giving us valuable information that can help us better understand, diagnose, and treat our patients.

We are incredibly grateful to the Florida Sea Turtle Grants Program for funding the purchase of our new Samsung V5 Veterinary Ultrasound System, including specialized transducers, imaging software, and accessories. This equipment is already making a difference in the care we can provide to our sea turtles and Lightning Bug is just one example.

Every diagnostic tool, every treatment, and every examination helps us get one step closer to giving our patients the very best chance at recovery.

Only the best for our patients. Always.

Learn more at www.helpingseaturtles.org

08/07/2026

Become a Member

07/02/2026

On July 2, 1964, the Civil Rights Act became law, marking a historic step toward ending discrimination in the workplace and expanding opportunity.

More than 60 years later, its legacy reminds us that equal opportunity requires ongoing commitment. AAUW continues advocating for policies that help ensure women can learn, work, and lead free from discrimination and barriers to opportunity.