Women's History Month: "Sun Queen" Maria Telkes

Maria Telkes portrait
Maria Telkes was a pioneer in solar energy technology.


As Women’s History Month draws to a close, we have the spotlight on Hungarian-American biophysicist, scientist, and inventor Maria Telkes. 

Nicknamed the “Sun Queen,” Maria had an early interest in solar energy. She completed her PhD in physical chemistry at the University of Budapest in 1924 and went on to serve 14 years on MIT’s Solar Energy Conversion Project, the beginning of a career spanning 50 years in innovative solar energy technology. 

Notable inventions include:
  • The Dover Sun House project, an experimental residence heated entirely with solar power.
  • The solar oven, developed for third-world countries
  • A solar still system that converted seawater into drinking water for use on military life boats during WWII
Over the course of her career, Maria earned 20 patents and published more than 100 articles. She received numerous prestigious awards, and became the first recipient of the Society of Women Engineers Achievement Award for her contributions to solar technology.

Diagram of Maria's collapsible solar still with water vapor permeable membrane.
Diagram of Maria's collapsible solar still
We still benefit from Maria’s pioneering technology today.

CWS provides environmental monitoring systems for optimizing the efficiency of solar power generation. Learn more about what we offer here.

 References:
Eschner, Kat. (2017, December). This 1940s Solar House Powered Innovation and Women in STEM. Retrieved from smithsonianmag.com

 Rafferty, John. (2011, February). Mária Telkes, American Physical Chemist and Biophysicist. Retrieved from britannica.com




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hurricane Milton Weather Data

Image
As Hurricane Milton makes its approach from the Gulf of Mexico towards Florida, Cloud Weather Server screenshots from a utility customer in the Keys show high wind speeds and a drop in barometric pressure. Weather conditions affect their operations and impacts decision making, as shown in a customized screen. Our thoughts are with all who are affected by this powerful storm.
Read more

North Star BlueScope's Orion Weather Station

Image
Kelly Masell of North Star BlueScope with the Weather MicroServer monitoring screen. When equipment breakdowns happen during manufacturing processes, it’s important for operators to identify the root cause to prevent costly impacts in the future. Kelly Masell is a Package Engineer at North Star BlueScope , a leading supplier in the steel industry based in Ohio. He recently explained how data from an Orion Weather Station installed at the plant is used for their operations: An Orion Weather Station installed at the plant. “The system was configured to transfer data via Modbus TCP to an Allen Bradley PLC. This data is then trended in a historical program for data retrieval at any time. If something major happens in the plant, it may be weather related. We can look at the historical trends of temperature, humidity, winds, barometric pressure and more. Columbia Weather data could pinpoint if a weather-related data point was a contributing factor of why the breakdown occurred.”  Kelly adde
Read more

CWS at Meteorological Technology World Expo 2024

Image
Nader and Martha in Vienna, Austria for 🌐 Meteorological Technology World Expo 2024! It was a valuable time exploring the latest in technology advances and connecting with fellow professionals in the weather world. Here are some photos from the week: CWS President Nader Khoury at #MetTechWorldExpo Martha at the Expo in Vienna, Austria
Read more