5 Latin American Women Innovators Shaking Up the Tech World

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In a field that requires women to work alongside men who don't believe women have the intelligence and inclination to work in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), these Latina innovators are proving otherwise. However, there remains an extensive underrepresentation from women in STEM fields worldwide who make up only 24 percent of the STEM workforce. Moreover, only 3 percent of Latina women are working in STEM fields.

Among these figures, these Latina innovators are making a social impact by solving many of the world's most complex questions and threatening plights - from climate change to terminal illnesses to social problems, according to Remezcla.

MIT Technology Review,  Massachusetts Institute of Technology's publication recently released a list of the leading Latin American innovators of 2019 under the age of 35. MIT also granted them awards for their revolutionary inventions and ideas.

Here are five Latina innovators shaking up the tech sphere and using technology to create a greater impact for the world:

María Alexandra Tamayo

This 24-year-old biomedical engineer from Colombia is purifying water in a country that ranks second in having the most water resources but only 8 percent of households have access to drinking water. This problem which leads to avoidable diseases and deaths is something that the biomedical engineer wants to lessen.

"This is how NanoPro was born, a device 'capable of eliminating fungi, viruses and bacteria from the water without affecting its taste, smell and color,' Tamayo explained. ... The filter can be applied in both rural and urban populations, since it is incorporated both in faucets and in thermoses for those areas whose supply network does not reach homes. With her creation, Tamayo seeks to democratize access to drinking water in areas where, although available, it is not suitable for human consumption."

 Maria Angélica de Camargo

Brazil takes pride in Maria Angélica de Camargo, a 32-year-old molecular biologist who created a dengue test that accelerates its treatment and reduces mortality.

"After the arrival of the Zika virus in America, the efficiency of dengue diagnostic tests collapsed due to the molecular similarity of the ailments," said Camargo. "It is important to identify whether it is dengue or Zika before starting treatment. That is why we made a protein that was totally specific for dengue. By developing this exclusive test, false dengue positives are avoided in people with Zika and vice versa. In addition, the cost of the Camargo test is very low when compared to current molecular tests capable of differentiating between one disease and another."

Marcela Torres

Marcela Torres, 32, is helping refugees and immigrants in Mexico through Holacode, a software she developed to provide them access to employment and better integrate themselves into society.

"A few years ago, the young Marcela Torres realized that in Mexico there were not enough people with the necessary knowledge for the software developer positions that were offered in the country, so she decided to take advantage of the technology to solve the problem," the MIT magazine said. "This is how Holacode was born, a start-up that offers software development courses for the migrant community in Mexico. ... The educational program of Holacode lasts five months, and its objective is that technology education becomes more democratic and accessible. The start-up allows these jobs to be filled by especially vulnerable people such as migrants."

María Isabel Amorín

María Isabel Amorín, a 28-year-old Guatemalan chemist discovered an innovative way to clean sewage.

Among the adverse effects of global industrial activity are the addition to emissions and resource consumption as well as water pollution. Textile industries uses large quantities of dyes for the production of clothing which can contaminate rivers and other bodies of water through the sewage.

To provide a solution, Amorín synthesized a polymer from shrimp shells that's capable of retaining the dyes used in the textile industry. According to the MIT Technology Review, "The filter works by recirculating and retaining the dye used to dye clothes. This project is especially intended for artisanal textile production, since the technologies available to treat the waters are very expensive. Now, the young woman is in the process of patenting her ecological method of filtration and hopes to scale production."

Mariel Pérez Carrillo

Mariel Pérez Carrillo, a 27-year old Mexican biochemical engineer and entrepreneur, helps farmers increase their crop production through a company she co-founded called, Innus Technologies.

Carillo recalled, "I went to the countryside to learn from the farmers and I realized that they don't know how their crop is. They also don't know what state their soil is in." She invented Enviro, a device that identifies soil conditions and climate in real time and, from them, offers recommendations to improve crop yields.