Dr Telkes was born in Budapest, Hungary, at the beginning of the 20th century. In its description of her doodle, Google notes that she was the first person to receive “the Society of Women Engineers Achievement Award” on this day in 1952.
Do you find the most recent Google doodle intriguing? It honours the life of Dr Maria Telkes, a pioneer in the solar energy industry. She really believed that Sun has the power to change people’s life. She devoted her life to pursuing and documenting relevant studies.
Who was ‘The Sun Queen,’ Dr Maria Telkes?
1) Dr Telkes was born in Budapest, Hungary, at the beginning of the 20th century. In its description of her doodle, Google notes that she was the first person to receive “the Society of Women Engineers Achievement Award” on this day, December 11, 1952. The SWE award is a deserving honour given to women who make contributions to engineering.
2) In terms of education, Dr Telkes earned a B.A. in physical chemistry from the Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest in 1920. She travelled to the United States to pursue a career as a biophysicist after completing her PhD in 1924.
3) She became a citizen of the United States in 1937 and served on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s esteemed Solar Energy Committee (MIT). She was commended for her efforts and received an invitation from the American government to create a solar distiller that produced fresh water from seawater. Soldiers in the Pacific War later adopted this revolutionary idea.
4) After the war, she worked as an associate research professor at MIT and collaborated with a group of colleagues to construct habitable solar-heated dwellings, but she was fired from the project after coming up with an unsuccessful design. In 1948, Dr Telkes was successful in obtaining private finance for her endeavour, and together with Eleanor Raymond, she used it to build the Dover Sun House. The phrase “solar energy” became more widely known as a result of the project’s success. She has served as a consultant for numerous energy corporations and possesses more than 20 patents.
5) In addition to her many other inventions, Dr Maria Telkes is renowned for developing the current design of the solar oven. The project serves as a reminder of why she is referred to as the “Sun Queen” and was commissioned by the renowned Ford Foundation.