Gleiter, Roberta B. (Roberta Banaszak), 1938-2023
Dates
- Existence: 1938 - July 22, 2023
Biographical Information
Roberta Gleiter received her BS in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University in 1960, a time when women engineers were very few and far in between. As a result, Gleiter faced discrimination in her field. She married a fellow Purdue alumnus, John Gleiter, and raised her three children from 1960 to 1980. In 1980, she re-entered the workforce and became involved in a National Science Foundation program that was geared toward supporting women who were re-entering the engineering field. After completing the program, Gleiter was offered a job with Aerospace Corp., a federally funded research and development organization in Los Angeles. She then earned her MS in Systems Management/Technical Systems from the University of Southern California. Through her employment at Aerospace Corp., Gleiter was responsible for half of a billion dollars worth of satellite software and received numerous awards. Gleiter retired as a project engineer in 2004 and went on to become the co-founder and CEO of the Global Institute for Technology and Engineering (GIFTE), an organization that strives to improve the status of women in the technology and engineering workforce. Gleiter has published several articles and given many presentations nationwide and worldwide. She was a proud advocate for engineering and received the 2008 Outstanding Chemical Engineering Award from Purdue University.