( CNN ) -- After two space shuttle flights in the 1980s , astronaut Sally Ride spent much of the rest of her life trying to encourage children , particularly girls , to give the sciences a shot . Ride , the first American woman in space , was part of a wave of women who entered the traditionally male disciplines of natural sciences and engineering in the 1970s . One of those she inspired was Catherine `` Cady '' Coleman , who told CNN 's `` Newsroom '' that she never considered becoming an astronaut before meeting Ride in 1982 . `` When I 'd think of what they look like , it 's those Mercury Seven standing in front of an airplane , a bunch of guys that were older than me with not as much hair , '' she said . `` And suddenly you meet Sally Ride , and it became clear to me that maybe this is something I can pursue . '' The human , funny side of Sally Ride . Coleman joined the Air Force , became an astronaut and has racked up more than 4,300 hours in space , including two space shuttle flights and a five-month stint aboard the international space station . `` All of us would like to make a difference , but Sally changed the world , '' she said . Sally Ride opens a new frontier for others . The number of women earning science or engineering degrees grew from about 50,000 in 1966 to about 240,000 in 2006 , according to figures from the National Science Foundation . Ride died Monday at age 61 . She joined NASA 's astronaut corps in 1978 , the same year she earned a Ph.D in physics at California 's Stanford University . At the time , women earned about 4 % of the physics degrees , said Christianne Corbett , a senior researcher at the American Association of University Women . That number is about 20 % today , Corbett said . `` She was a real pioneer . Things have really improved dramatically in her lifetime , '' Corbett said . Opinion : Thank you , Sally Ride . Charles Vest , the president of the National Academy of Engineering , served with Ride on the board of the National Math and Science Initiative , an industry-backed effort to boost those subjects . He said Ride was always friendly and good humored , `` an inspiration to everybody . '' `` I do n't think I have attended a single major event on K-12 science and education where she was n't present , '' he said . `` My own granddaughter attended one or two Sally Ride events in Washington and was always inspired by them , and was just devastated when she heard the news . '' Women today make up about half of the graduates in chemistry and mathematics , and are awarded a majority of bachelor 's degrees in biology . But in engineering , only about 20 % of graduates are women -- and among all women entering college , only 3 to 5 % choose engineering as a major , said Catherine Didion , a program manager at the engineering academy . Tributes pour in for Sally Ride . `` I had the opportunity to work with her and watch some of the students ' eyes light up , '' Didion said . `` She had a way to explain the work that she did , and the passion she had for what she did , in a way that was really approachable . '' Ride 's efforts focused on middle-school students , typically the point at which students are given a choice of elective courses . `` Many of them probably went back home and said , 'Mom , Dad , I know what I want to be , ' `` Didion said . But since 2006 , the percentage of women going into the sciences has leveled off , Corbett said . There has been a slight decline in female engineering and physics majors , and the number of women choosing computer science has dropped from about 30 % in the 1980s to about 18 % today . Corbett and Didion said female students still battle the stereotype that males do better at math and science -- and in some cases trim their ambitions accordingly . Dr. Sally Ride . `` Fewer girls tend to go on to careers in those areas because they hold themselves to a higher standard and tend to assess their abilities lower , '' Corbett said . That 's often true even when girls get higher grades or standardized test scores , she said . `` Role models like Sally Ride are so important for reducing the effective stereotype , '' Corbett said . `` The more you see women succeeding in these areas , the less strong that stereotype is . '' And Vest said studies show appeals to idealism and the potential of new discoveries can help draw women to the field . `` We 've been doing a very poor job of explaining the versatility of engineering degrees , and how if you want to improve climate and water and health , it 's going to take technological advances to do it , '' he said . Didion said Ride `` not only walked that , she lived that life in giving back to the community . '' `` It 's hard to overstate the impact that she had on a generation of young women when she made that first spaceflight , '' she said . `` And the fact that she continued to work with young students means she had a ripple effect on several generations . '' Memories of my space flight with Sally Ride .
Sally Ride was part of a rising wave of women in science and engineering . Hide Caption Ride , the first American woman in space , died Monday at 61 . `` Sally changed the world , '' astronaut Cady Coleman says .