A leader in computer technologies and transgender activism

Biography

Lynn Conway is a transgender electrical engineer born to a middle class family in 1938. Although she suffered from gender dysphoria throughout her childhood, she was unable to get support due to the social climate that deemed homosexuality immoral. Despite the lack of support from her family and society as a whole, Conway made great strides in technologies like out-of-order execution that are still used in high performance micro-processors today. Today, she is retired but continues to contribute to society as a transgender activist.

Timeline

Year	Event
1938	Born
1955	Enters MIT
1957	Leaves MIT after failed gender transition attempt
1962	Receives Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University
1963	Receives Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University
1964	Recruited by IBM
1968	Successful gender transition; fired from IBM
1969	Starts working at Memorex
1973	Starts working at Xerox PARC
1978	Starts teaching at MIT as the professor of electrical engineering & computer science
Early 1980s	Starts working for DARPA
1985	Starts teaching at University of Michigan as the professor of electrical engineering & computer science

Early Life and Education

Lynn Conway was born to a middle class family living in White Plains, New York in 1938. Although she struggled with her gender identity as she was growing up, she did not receive the guidance needed to venture through her gender dysphoria. Being a talented student, she entered MIT as a 17 year- old, and continued to excel in her studies. However, after an unsuccessful gender transition, she was having a difficult time and left MIT. After working menial jobs, she resumed her education at Columbia University, receiving a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in electrical engineering and computer science.

Early Career

Impressed by her accomplishments at Columbia, IBM recruited Conway as part of their architecture team working on an advanced supercomputer. She developed technologies that contributed to the out-of-order execution paradigm that is still used in high performance microprocessors today. Unfortunately, Conway was fired in 1968, due to her gender affirmation surgery. After the surgery, she lost custody of both of her daughters, as well as her wife.

"Stealth Mode"

Transitioning into her new life as a woman, Conway resumed her career at Memorex and continued to work on computer architecture. Impressed by her contributions, Xerox engineers recruited her to become part of their research center, Xerox PARC. At PARC, Conway researched VLSI (very large scale integrated circuits) with CalTech professor Carver Mead. Her research reconceptualized chip processing, and their textbook became widely recognized and used at universities. In 1978, she started teaching at MIT as the professor of electrical engineering and computer science, and for a period after that, she worked for DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency). In 1985, she resumed her teaching career at the University of Michigan as the professor of electrical engineering and computer science.

Recent Years

In 1999, Conway started telling her friends about her past, and in 2000, she came out as a transgender woman through her website. On her website, she told her story to support other LGBTQ+ people, especially those who are hesitant to pursue their aspirations because of their identity. In 2020, IBM apologized for her wrongful dismissal from the company, and they recognized her contributions not only to IBM, but to the industry as a whole.

Citations

Brennan, Dustin. “How Lynn Conway Broke down Barriers as a Computer Scientist and Transgender Icon.” Modern Wellness Guide, 18 June 2021, https://www.modernwellnessguide.com/lgbtq-empowerment/how-lynn-conway-broke-down-barriers-as-a-computer-scientist-and-transgender-icon/#.

“Column: IBM Apologizes for Firing a Transgender Pioneer, 52 Years Late.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 23 Nov. 2020, https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2020-11-23/ibm-apology-lynn-conway.

Lynch, Dianne. “Wired Women: Engineer Lynn Conway's Secret.” ABC News, ABC News Network, 7 Jan. 2006, https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=119242&page=1.

“Lynn Conway.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Apr. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynn_Conway.