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The technology behind Zoom, FaceTime, and WhatsApp was invented by one woman. Meet the engineer who changed how the world connects.

Dr. Marian Croak is the engineer who made the modern digital world possible. She is the force behind Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), the foundational technology that powers Zoom calls, FaceTime sessions, and WhatsApp voice notes. Her work is the reason you can have a video meeting, send a voice message, or make a call over the internet.

The internet started as a network for data. Voice traffic was still carried over traditional telephone lines. At AT&T, Croak was a pioneer who saw the potential of the internet and led the charge to convert the company's massive voice network into a VoIP system. She had to push past internal skepticism and resistance. She believed that the internet could carry more than just data, and that it could do so with reliability and quality.

Croak holds more than 200 patents, with a significant number related to VoIP and communications technology. Her career began at Bell Labs in 1982, and she later managed a team of 2,000 engineers at AT&T. Her contributions earned her a place in the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2022, making her one of the first two Black women ever inducted.

Her impact reaches beyond the internet. She co-invented the text-to-donate system that allowed people to donate to charities by text message. This technology was first used after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, raising $130,000. After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the same system raised $43 million in donations. It has since been used for countless humanitarian causes worldwide.

Croak joined Google in 2014. She has worked on expanding internet access to underserved communities, including leading projects to bring Wi-Fi to India, Ghana, and Uganda. Today, she serves as Vice President of Engineering, leading Google's Research Center for Responsible AI and Human-Centered Technology. She is shaping the future of technology with the same drive and vision that gave us our present.