In 1984, she became the first female dean of an engineering school in the United States, at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York.
Her parents left Europe during the Holocaust and moved to the United States where they urged her to become an elementary schoolteacher, or, as a secondary option, a high school math teacher.
She has stated that because she was an only child, all of her parents’ hopes and dreams were centered on her, so she felt obligated to behave.
"[3] She attended Midwood High School in Brooklyn, New York where she excelled in advanced science and mathematics classes.
Baum was met with resistance upon applying to engineering colleges: Her high school teachers were discouraging and balked in a similar way that her mother did.
She has served as president of ABET and sat on the National Science Foundation's Engineering Advisory Board.
[4] In 1988, the National Women's Hall of Fame presented Baum with the Emily Warren Roebling Award.