Born: 1926, Colombia
Died: Unknown
Country most active: Colombia
Also known as: NA
The following was written by Nina Baker and is excerpted from the book From Alchemy to Transport Phenomena: A Global History of Women in Chemical Engineering.
Noemy Chaverra, (1926-) was Colombia’s first black chemical engineer, graduating from the University of Antioquia in 1951. Not only an Afro-Colombian but also from what is still a very isolated rural area. The most a woman might aspire to then was to become a teacher but the nuns noted her talents and sent her to Instituto Central Femenino-Central Feminine Institute, in Medellín, from which she was able to enter University of Antioquia. After graduating she became a chemical engineer at Fabricato y en Tejidos Celta in charge of dyes and quality control. She also advised multinationals Bayer and Química Proco, on chemical products for the textile industry, became a professor at the Universidad del Atlántico, and set up her own company, Confecciones Nocha, producing uniforms.