Women in Science

Maria Telkes

Chemist & Solar Engineering

Designer of the first residential solar heating system and inventor of many patent solar-powered devices, Dr. Maria Telkes (b. 1900) first became interested in the problems of solar power as a high-school student in her native Hungary. After she earned a doctoral degree in physical chemistry, she relocated to the United States. From 1939 Telkes held positions in solar energy research and development at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and New York University College of Engineering, among others. In 1948 she provided the heating system design for an experimental solar-heated house in Dover, Massachusetts. Built with funds provided by Amelia Peabody, a wealthy Boston sculptor, and designed by architect Eleanor Raymond, the house is still in use today. Telkes' other solar-powered inventions included a distilling system for life rafts and a solar oven.

Be sure to read about how other female, African-American and other scientists helped shape our history and make our world what it is today.