60 years ago: First woman to earn a doctorate in computer science in the USA was a nun

She was a nun, mathematician and one of the pioneers of the digital age: Sister Mary Kenneth Keller. On 7 June 1965, she became the first woman in the USA to earn a doctorate in computer science, a subject that was still in its infancy at the time. In doing so, she not only wrote scientific history, but also women's history - and combined her technical vision with a clear social mission.

She was born Evelyn Marie Keller on 17 December 1913 in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1932, she joined the Catholic order of the "Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary" (BVM) and took the religious name Mary Kenneth. She took her perpetual vows in 1940. After earning a bachelor's degree in mathematics in 1943 and a master's degree in mathematics and physics in 1952 - both from DePaul University in Chicago - she turned to computers in the early 1960s.

Pioneer in research and teaching

Her dissertation at the University of Wisconsin-Madison focussed on automatic pattern recognition - a subject area that later became part of artificial intelligence. She was one of the first people ever to be awarded a Ph.D. in computer science in the USA and is considered to be the first woman with this qualification.

At a time when women were rarely involved in technical research programmes, Keller was given access to computer facilities at Dartmouth College - a remarkable step, as the famous Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence did not officially admit women. She did not work directly on the development of the BASIC programming language, but was an early advocate for its use in education. Together with colleagues, she developed training materials and also taught adults, including the well-known architect Buckminster Fuller.

In 1965, Keller founded the Computer Science Department at Clarke College (now Clarke University) in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and headed it for over two decades. She saw herself not only as a scientist, but also as an educator with a social mission. Her goal: to open up access to computers for everyone - especially for women, children and socially disadvantaged groups. According to Keller, technology should not be reserved for a few experts, but should be a tool for intellectual development and social participation.

No contradiction between science and religion

Keller saw no contradiction between religious life and scientific progress. In lectures and publications, she called for ethical reflection on technology and argued in favour of its use for the common good. She was convinced that computers were not just calculating machines, but instruments of thought.

Sister Mary Kenneth Keller died on 10 January 1985 in Dubuque, Iowa. Today, computer science laboratories, scholarships and educational institutions in the USA bear her name. Her life's work is increasingly being rediscovered - as a testimony to a woman who combined science, faith and social responsibility in a visionary way.