Google honors aerospace engineer Mary G. Ross with new Doodle

Aug. 9 (UPI) -- Google is celebrating what would have been the 110th birthday of the first American Indian female engineer Mary G. Ross with a new Doodle.

Ross, an aerospace engineer, developed concepts for interplanetary space travel, satellites and earth-orbiting flights both manned and unmanned.

Ross, the great granddaughter of Chief John Ross of the Cherokee Nation, earned her professional certification in aeronautical engineering from UCLA in 1949, later becoming one of the 40 founding members of the top-secret Skunk Works team. There she designed flyby missions to Mars and Venus and the Agena rocket satellite.

"We were taking the theoretical and making it real," Ross had said.

Ross would also encourage other women and American Indians to pursue work in STEM fields, becoming a member of the Society of Women Engineers that in 1992 which established a scholarship in her name to help female engineers and technologists.

Ross' nephew Jeff Ross spoke with Google about his aunt and her legacy stating that she is a role model for young women and American Indians and that his family hopes that her story can inspire young people to better the world through science.

Google's homepage features artwork depicting Ross along with her Agena rocket satellite orbiting earth.