Marian Croak and Dr. Patricia Bath to become first Black women inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame

The National Inventors Hall of Fame will induct two Black women for the first time in the organization's nearly 50-year history. Engineer Marian Croak and ophthalmologist Dr. Patricia Bath, whose inventions advanced the audio and surgical industries, are among the 29 inductees who make up the 2022 class. 

"It's humbling, and a great experience," Croak, who now works as Google's vice president of engineering, said in an interview with the company about her selection. "At the time I never thought the work that I was doing was that significant and that it would lead to this, but I'm so I'm very grateful for the recognition."

Croak is being honored for her work in advancing "Voice over Internet Protocol," the technology behind audio and video conferencing. She has accumulated more than 200 patents throughout her career and also created the "text-to-donate" system for charities, which raised $130,000 in the aftermath of New Orleans' Hurricane Katrina and $43 million after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, according to the National Inventors Hall of Fame.