March is Women’s History Month. Therefore, this week in Future Science Leaders, we were tasked with writing about a woman who invented something; as a rule, each blog post had to pass the Finkbeiner test. After doing some research about women inventors, I ultimately chose to write about Dr. Mária Telkes.
An article written about a woman scientist must not include certain facts about the scientist in order to be able to pass the Finkbeiner test. These facts are as follows:
- The fact that she’s a woman
- Her husband’s job
- Her child care arrangements
- How she nurtures her underlings
- How she was taken aback by the competitiveness in her field
- How she’s such a role model for other women
- How she’s the “first woman to…”
With no further ado, here is the biography I have written on the topic of Dr. Mária Telkes:
Biography
Early Life
Dr. Mária Telkes was born to Aladar Telkes and Maria Laban de Telkes on December 12, 1900 in Budapest, Hungary. From a very young age, her interest in science was unwavering. She excelled in high school and became interested in solar energy during this time.
University of Budapest
Then, she went on to obtain a B.A. in 1920 and a Ph.D. in 1924; both degrees were in physical chemistry, and both were from the University of Budapest. After earning her doctorate degree, she worked as an instructor at her alma mater for a year.
Cleveland Clinic Foundation
One day, Dr. Telkes travelled to the United States to visit her cousin, who was living and working in Cleveland as its Hungarian consul. During her stay, the Cleveland Clinic Foundation offered her a position as a biophysicist; they wanted her to research the energy that organisms produce. She accepted, and thus, she decided to immigrate to the United States.
Following, she worked for the Cleveland Clinic Foundation under Dr. George Crile for 12 years; during this time, she helped to develop a device that could record brain waves.
Westinghouse Electric
1937 was the year during which Dr. Telkes became a citizen of the United States. Additionally, it was the year that she started a new job with the company Westinghouse Electric. As a research engineer within her new company, she created devices that could convert heat energy into electrical energy.
MIT
Three years later, in 1940, Dr. Telkes joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Solar Energy Conversion Project, becoming an associate research professor at the university.
WWII
However, during World War II, Dr. Telkes was assigned to work at the US Office of Scientific Research and Development. There, she worked on developing a solar device that could be used by military members who were stranded at sea to convert salt water to clean, drinkable water.
Dover Sun House
Dr. Telkes returned to work at MIT in 1948, and along with Eleanor Raymond, an architect, she began to design the Dover Sun House, the United States’ first-ever house to use only solar energy as its source of power. Furthermore, Dr. Telkes created a new technology for the Dover Sun House; this technology used a type of salt called Glauber’s salt to store heat. For her innovation in regards to this invention, she received the first ever “Society of Women Engineers Achievement Award” in 1952.
NYU
In 1953, Dr. Telkes began to work as a solar energy researcher at the New York University College of Engineering. Additionally, the Ford Foundation gave her a $45,000 grant to invent a solar oven that people in poor countries could use to make food. Eventually, she succeeded in her attempts; namely, the cheap, easy-to-use oven that she designed was able to reach 350 degrees Fahrenheit, a suitable temperature at which to, for example, bake a loaf of bread.
Insulation Packaging
In 1958, following her job at NYU, Dr. Telkes had a stint as a designer of insulation packaging for two companies. First, she worked for the Curtiss-Wright Company, and then, she worked for Cryo-Therm.
University of Delaware
In 1969, Dr. Telkes became a researcher at the University of Delaware’s Institute of Energy Conversion. There, she started to work on another solar-powered house, which was known as Solar One.
While she was working there, she also participated in designing an air-conditioning system that stored coolness during the night so it could be released the next day.
Furthermore, she received the American Solar Energy Society’s Charles Greely Abbot Award, along with a lifetime achievement award from the National Academy of Sciences Building Research Advisory Board, in 1977.
Retirement
She retired the following year, in 1978; however, for numerous years, she still retained the position of a consultant for the University of Delaware and for various solar energy companies.
Dr. Telkes died on December 2, 1995, at the age of 94, during her first visit back to Budapest since she had immigrated to the United States; at the time of her death, she held more than 20 patents.
Thanks for reading!
Gabby Salumbre
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