Last Updated on December 12, 2022 by Dr Bucho
Dr. Telkes was the first to receive The Society of Women Engineers Achievement Award on this day in 1952
On December 12, 2022, Google honoured Dr. Maria Telkes, a Hungarian-American biophysicist and scientist who was known as the “Sun Queen” for her work on solar thermal energy storage systems. Telkes was one of the solar energy pioneers.
Google created a Doodle in honour of Dr Telkes on the occasion of her 122nd birthday.
Dr. Telkes, who was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1900, attended the Eötvös Loránd University of Budapest to study physical chemistry. She earned her PhD in 1924 after earning her B.A. in 1920.
She was one of the first researchers to employ solar energy in a test home and a supporter of doing so.
She arrived in the United states in 1925 and remained after being hired as a biophysicist by the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
Dr. Telkes was a member of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s esteemed Solar Energy Committee and became an American citizen in 1937. (MIT). The American government also asked her to create a solar saltwater still for the Navy during World War II, saving the lives of downed airmen and sailors who had been torpedoed. She spent many years working with inexpensive solar-powered stoves that may be used by the underprivileged.
She developed a solar oven design that is still in use today after receiving a contract from the Ford Foundation. At prestigious universities like NYU, Princeton University, and the University of Delaware, she also contributed to the study of solar energy. Dr. Telkes worked as a consultant for numerous energy firms and held more than 20 patents.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the sun queen?
a Hungarian-American biophysicist and scientist who was known as the “Sun Queen” for her work on solar thermal energy storage systems.
What did Maria Telkes invent?
Maria Telkes spent her whole career working on this project, developing some of the first effective solar ovens, solar heating systems, and a solar water distillation device to purify saltwater.
What is Maria Telkes known for?
Mária Telkes, an American physical chemist and biophysicist of Hungarian descent, was born in Budapest, Austria-Hungary, on December 12, 1900, and passed away there on December 2, 1995. She is best known for developing the solar distiller and the first residential solar heating system.
Where did Maria Telkes grow up?
On December 12, 1900, Telkes was born in Budapest, Hungary. She took an early interest in science, enrolling in the University of Budapest’s physical chemistry programme, where she graduated with a doctorate in 1924 and a bachelor’s degree in 1920.
Source : Britannica