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Montage of photos of 8 women inventors

Top row: Marion O'Brien Donovan, Tara Astigarraga, Madison Maxey, Marilyn Hamilton. Bottom row: Michelle Khine, Marjorie Stewart Joyner, Alexis Lewis, Ellen Ochoa

Maxey bent over a workbench using tools

Madison Maxey

March 22, 2021 by Joyce Bedi

Throughout American history, women with diverse backgrounds and interests created inventions that change our lives every day.

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“I felt like it was the right time to finally make my dreams come true.”

Madison Maxey

inventors-maxey-madison-lfp3303loomia-c-madison-maxey-450-inline-edit.jpg

Maxey bent over a workbench using tools

Madison Maxey using a temperature sensing tool on an e-textile, 2018. Photo by Luke Fontana, courtesy of Madison Maxey

Madison Maxey has always loved making things—from clothing to stretchy inks that conduct electricity. She started sewing when she was eight years old and began her design career by interning in the fashion industry. She has since broadened her exploration of how technology and design can work together through innovations in electronic textiles (e-textiles). Maxey and her company, LOOMIA, create fabrics that act like circuit boards for innovative products that range from medical wearables for monitoring patients to heated ski gear.

inventors-maxey-madison-05-17-18-loomia46920-c-madison-maxey-750-inline-edit.jpg

Person flexing a piece of e-textile

The LOOMIA Electronic Layer works like a soft, flexible circuit board to add heating, lighting, and sensing to car seats, medical apparel, outdoor gear, and more. Courtesy of LOOMIA

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Two shoe insoles with heating wires

Illustration from Madison Maxey’s patent application for a flexible heating element for shoes, clothing, and other soft goods, 2018.


Source for quote above: “How She Got There: Madison Maxey, CEO and Co-Founder of Madison Maxey,” Her Campus, accessed August 31, 2020, https://www.hercampus.com/money-career/how-she-got-there/how-she-got-there-madison-maxey-ceo-and-co-founder-madison-maxey.

  • Continue To Ellen Ochoa
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  • Grace Hopper
  • Marjorie Stewart Joyner
  • Michelle Khine
  • Margaret Knight
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  • Lisa Lindahl, Hinda Miller, & Polly Palmer Smith
  • Madison Maxey
  • Ellen Ochoa
  • Amy Prieto
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  • Charlotte Cramer Sachs
  • Laura Shepherd
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  • Mária Telkes
  • Madam C. J. Walker
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  • Woman’s Building, 1893 World’s Fair

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