Books in STEM Trailblazer Bios series

Do you play computer games? If you do, you've probably played Minecraft. When Minecraft creator Markus Persson was young, he wasn't very interested in the games themselves. He was more interested in the programing instructions in the computer's manual. By the time Persson was eight years old, he was writing code for his own computer games. When he was eighteen, Persson landed his dream job as a video game programmer. In 2009, he designed Minecraft in a single weekend. In the game, players use blocks to build whatever they choose. Persson wanted to let players use their imaginations, and the idea paid off. Today, Minecraft is one of the most popular computer games in the world. Although Persson doubts he will ever top this success, he continues to develop games, while fans wait for what's next.

Have you ever dreamed of going to outer space? When Sally Ride was a little girl, she watched on TV as astronaut John Glenn launched into space. Twenty years later, she became the first American woman to go to space. Ride had loved science since she was young. Some of her teachers thought she was wasting her time studying science, but she went on to earn her PhD in astrophysics anyway. When NASA's astronaut training program opened to women, Ride quickly applied. Some people thought women couldn't handle space flight. But Ride worked hard and proved them all wrong. Later, she became a physics professor and started her own business to encourage young people to study science. Learn more about Ride's career as a NASA astronaut and educator.

Have you ever tried to come up with ways to solve a problem in your community? Wangari Maathai worked to solve an environmental crisis and help people at the same time. When Maathai was young, it was unusual for girls in Kenya to go to school, but she was determined to learn more about science and nature. As an adult, she noticed that people were cutting down too many trees. Maathai knew that forest loss was bad for the health of the environment and people. She started the Green Belt Movement, which educated women in rural villages and paid them for every tree they planted. The program helped plant millions of trees and brought money to the villages. For her environmental and human rights work, Maathai became the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

As a kid, Lonnie Johnson liked to invent things. He often faced prejudice as an African American growing up in the segregated southern United States, but he eventually became an engineer for the US Air Force and NASA. He was working on a different invention when he came up with the idea for a new type of water gun. Johnson knew his toy was more powerful than other squirt guns―he just needed to find a way to make the Super Soaker available to kids all over the country. Learn how Johnson overcame many challenges to become a brilliant engineer and inventor.

Have you ever stared into the night sky, full of stars and planets? As a kid, Neil deGrasse Tyson was star-struck when he first visited a planetarium. The universe was calling him. Tyson pursued his interest in astronomy and studied to be an astrophysicist. In 1996, he became the director of New York's Hayden Planetarium. He is passionate about teaching people about the universe. Known for making science fun and easy to understand, he has hosted and appeared on TV shows such as Nova ScienceNow and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He even has more than one million Twitter followers! But how did he get there? Follow his path from fascinated kid to popular space expert.

Have you ever looked up at the twinkling stars in the night sky? Nancy Grace Roman looked up and never looked back. Roman was fascinated with the stars ever since her mother showed her the constellations. She read every book on astronomy she could find and even started her own neighborhood astronomy club for girls. But many of the people around her didn't think science was the right field for a woman. Academic advisers in high school and even college tried to dissuade Roman from pursuing astronomy. She worked hard to eventually become NASA's first Chief of Astronomy and, ultimately, the "Mother of Hubble." Learn how Roman's passion for astronomy and her tireless work on the Hubble Space Telescope project helped scientists capture breathtaking images of deep space.

Have you ever tried to invent something? As a child, Nikola Tesla saw a picture of a waterfall and imagined an invention that would turn the water's energy into electricity. Later, he invented the water wheel, which turned water power into usable energy. As a young adult, Tesla spent his spare time experimenting with electrical equipment. He worked for inventor Thomas Edison, improving power plants and machines that ran on direct current electricity. But Tesla believed electrical distribution could be better. He went on to invent alternating current electricity, which would allow people to distribute electricity over long distances. Learn how Tesla's work eventually made turning on electrical devices as easy as flipping a switch!

Do you like to compete against other people? So did cybersecurity engineer Parisa Tabriz. She turned her toughness and her competitive spirit into a job as Google's top security expert. As a child, Tabriz loved to play games with her brothers―and she played to win. When she couldn't outmuscle them, she tried to outsmart them. In high school, she excelled at math and science. She also liked drawing and painting. She considered a career as an artist and even as a police officer. Years later, Tabriz became an information security engineer at Google. How did she go from battling her brothers to fighting cybercriminals at one of the world's most important tech companies? Read on to learn all about the life of Google's top security brain.

Have you ever built a cool science project? In middle school, Aprille Ericsson won second place in a science fair. She knew she wanted to keep creating amazing science projects. As an adult, she became an engineer and works at NASA building spacecraft. Ericsson was one of the few girls in her middle school who loved math and science. Years later, she became the first woman to receive a PhD in mechanical engineering from Howard University. At NASA, she's helped build spacecraft that can map the moon, monitor climate change, or even bring soil and rocks back from Mars. Learn how Ericsson's passion for science has helped her pave the way for future engineers.

Have you ever taken something apart to see how it works? As a child, Grace Hopper took apart five alarm clocks in a row, trying to figure out how all the pieces fit together. As an adult, she joined the Naval Reserve during World War II and worked on the world's first large-scale computer. After the war, Hopper served on a committee organized by the Department of Defense to create a standard computer language. That language, Common Business-Oriented Language, or COBOL, quickly became popular. How did a curious little girl grow up to become the "Grandmother of COBOL"? Learn how her outstanding innovations changed the field of computer programming.

After earning degrees studying animal behavior, Danielle Lee wanted to share her love of science with young people. Through urban outreach she has brought budding scientists into professional labs. She's walked them through the steps of the scientific method. And she's shown them that science doesn't have to be intimidating. In her popular Urban Scientist blog, Lee shares backyard science and outreach work. She also writes about her own research and other women and people of color. Discover what this influential scientist is doing to encourage the next generation of scientists.

Do you enjoy visiting animals at the zoo or playing with pets? As a child, Jane Goodall loved watching and interacting with animals. As an adult, she became a scientist working with chimpanzees in Africa. Goodall used unconventional research methods to observe chimpanzees in East Africa. She studied the chimpanzees' behavior and revealed their tool-making abilities. As Goodall grew older, she turned her attention to raising awareness about endangered species and inspiring individuals around the globe to take action. She is one of the world's best-known scientists and activists. But how did she get there? Find out how Goodall's passion for animals helped her become the face of conservationism.