Judith Love Cohen

1933 - 2016

August 16, 1933 - July 25, 2016 Judith Love Cohen was a Registered Professional Electrical Engineer with bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Southern California. She worked for TRW on a variety of projects, including roles on the teams that created the guidance computer for the Minuteman missile, the Abort-Guidance System in the Lunar Excursion Module for the Apollo space program, the Tracking Data and Relay Satellite System, and the Hubble Space Telescope, among others. Judy considered her work on the Apollo program to be the highlight of her career; it was the Abort-Guidance System that brought the Apollo 13 astronauts home safely after disaster struck on their way to the moon. Judy was president of the LA chapter of the Society of Women Engineers. Awards she received for her work included the Outstanding Engineer Award from the Institute for the Advancement of Engineering, and a Distinguished Literary Contributions Award from the IEEE. Judy was included in Who's Who in the West, and Who's Who in American Women. Judy wrote a monthly column for the Engineer of California Magazine; she also wrote a play called "A Passover to Remember" that was produced twice in Los Angeles. Judy retired from engineering in the early 1990's, and founded Cascade Pass, a children's book publishing company, with her husband David Katz. Her first book, "You Can Be a Woman Engineer," was written to encourage young girls to consider a future career in engineering. Judy went on to author a series of similar books to encourage girls to enter the fields of engineering and science. Judy sold more than 100,000 copies of these books, and in doing so, inspired thousands of young girls to become interested in these important career fields. Judy is survived by her husband of 35 years, David Katz; by her children, Neil Siegel, Rachel Siegel, and Thomas Black; by her daughters-in-law Robyn Friend and Tanya Haden; and by her three grandchildren, Sonya Siegel-Chanen, Sammy Black and Tommy Black.