Biography:Doris Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf
Doris Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf | |
---|---|
Born | February 15, 1922 |
Died | March 25, 2010 Charlottesville, Virginia | (aged 88)
Nationality | German |
Spouse(s) | Heinz G. F. Wilsdorf |
Children | Gabriele and Michael |
Doris Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf (February 15, 1922 – March 25, 2010) was a German metallurgist.
Biography
Doris Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf was born in Bremen, Germany on February 22, 1922 to Adolph Friedrich and Elsa Kuhlmann.[1] She attended the University of Göttingen from 1942 where she received her doctorate in materials science in 1947. Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf continued her research under Sir Nevill Francis Mott at the University of Bristol.[1][2] She married Heinz Wilsdorf in 1950, with whom she travelled to University of the Witwatersrand to work as a lecturer in the same year.[1] In 1956 they moved to the United States to work at the University of Virginia as professors in the Physics and Materials Science departments.[1][2] She was named university professor of applied science in 1966; she was the first woman named as a full professor at the University of Virginia outside the schools of Medicine and Nursing.[1] In 1994 Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf and her husband funded a professorship in their name and former students created a memorial building on the campus in their name in 2001.[2]
Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf retired in 2005 and died after a short illness on March 25, 2010 in Charlottesville, Virginia.[3][4] Her papers are held at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia.
Research
Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf published over 250 papers and has been a consultant to a number of corporations.[2] Her research was primarily in metallurgy and materials science (with her expertise in tribology), known for her design of electrical metalfiber brushes used as sliding electrical contacts.[2] She was a fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Society of Metals.[5]
Honors and awards
- Medal for Excellence in Research of the American Society of Engineering Education (1965 and 1966)
- Heyn Medal of the German Society of Materials Science (1988)[6]
- Society of Women Engineers Achievement Award (1989)
- Ragnar Helm Scientific Achievement Award of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (1991)
- Christopher J. Henderson Inventor of the Year (2001)
- Fellow of TMS-AIME (2006)[2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Elizabeth H. Oakes (2007). Encyclopedia of World Scientists. Infobase Publishing. p. 417. ISBN 978-1438118826. https://books.google.com/books?id=uPRB-OED1bcC&lpg=PA417&dq=Doris%20Wilsdorf&pg=PA417#v=onepage&q=Doris%20Wilsdorf&f=false. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Tiffany K. Wayne (2011). American Women of Science Since 1900: Essays A-H. Vol.1. ABC-CLIO. pp. 590–591. ISBN 978-1598841589. https://books.google.com/books?id=gPGZJ_YuMwgC&lpg=PA590&dq=Doris%20Wilsdorf&pg=PA591#v=onepage&q=Doris%20Wilsdorf&f=false. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
- ↑ Pipkin, Josie (30 March 2010). "Pioneering Professor Doris Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf Dies; Service Thursday". UVA Today. https://news.virginia.edu/content/pioneering-professor-doris-kuhlmann-wilsdorf-dies-service-thursday. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
- ↑ "Barrier-breaking professor Doris Wilsdorf dies at 88". The Daily Progress. 29 March 2010. http://www.dailyprogress.com/news/article_1991b945-b8e2-56e7-b1cd-24e89e4dd589.html. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
- ↑ "Doris Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf". Contributions of 20th Century Women to Physics. University of California. 1997. http://cwp.library.ucla.edu/Phase2/Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf,_Doris@900123456.html. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
- ↑ "Deutsche Gesellschaft für Materialkunde e.V.: Heyn-Denkmünze". https://www.dgm.de/dgm/ehrungen/heyn-denkmuenze/.