Columbia Weather Systems

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 ...

Mary Walton and her patented smoke-suppressing device. For Women's History Month, we’re happy to highlight a 19th-century American inventor named Mary Walton. Living in post-industrial revolution New York City, Mary recognized that smoke pouring out of the numerous factories and trains was a problem. Determined to reduce the amount of soot that covered the city and lingered in the air, she engineered a solution: a device that directed the smoke into water tanks to be absorbed and flushed through the sewer system.  CWS continues Mary’s vision for a cleaner, healthier environment. We offer professional air quality monitoring solutions combined with meteorological parameters that provide immediate, on-site data for analysis, compliance, and decision-making.    Click here for more on Mary Walton Orion AQM Plus Sensor