Tara Astigarraga is an IBM Master Inventor with over 80 patents covering innovations in information technology storage, networking, security, and blockchain.

Astigarraga is from Arizona, a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, and a first-generation engineer. Astigarraga’s path to engineering was not a straight line, she studied Spanish linguistics and communications at the University of Arizona with hopes of being a teacher or a social worker. Through an internship, Astigarraga found herself at IBM full-time in 2001 when she became the first member of her family to graduate from college. She continued her education and completed her master’s in computer information systems in 2005 while working at IBM and raising a family simultaneously.

Astigarraga’s journey to 80 patents started when her computer crashed, and she had to recreate a document from memory at a conference. While lamenting the situation, a mentor challenged her to create a solution. Astigarraga’s solution evolved into her first patent in 2008: “End of Life Prediction of Flash Memory.” From this first patent Astigarraga has continued to innovate at IBM, working in the IBM Research department developing blockchain technology, creating cloud storage technologies as a Lead Architect, and applying new technologies to business. Astigarraga has been awarded for her work by the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, she has been featured in a Smithsonian exhibition on women inventors, and she has been a keynote speaker at many STEM conferences.

Throughout her career Astigarraga has worked with the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, the Society of Advancement for Chicanos and Native Americans in Science, and AnitaB.org to promote a more diverse workforce in technology. By working with these nonprofits, Astigarraga is able to work with students and young people as an example of an engineer from an underrepresented identity and to get them excited about opportunities in STEM.

Astigarraga was recently profiled by the USPTO office. You can read the USPTO article here.

Author:  Matthew Klaes