[1] Growing up, DeLuca's role model was her aunt Dot Richardson, a two-time gold medal winner for softball at the Olympics.
[3] She joined the company in 2005 and filed her first patent in 2006, aiming to improve the output console for Java code.
[2] DeLuca now holds more than 500 patents in the field of software programming, making her the most prolific female inventor at IBM.
[5] DeLuca has also spoken at a conference about the barriers women and minorities face when entering STEM fields, stressing the importance of removing bias in STEM education and extracurriculars, as well as supporting equal pay, maternity leave, and childcare in the workplace.
[3] Additionally, DeLuca has written two children's books, supported by a $14,000 Kickstarter campaign for their production.