Maria Telkes
Personal Information
Born: 1900
Died: 1995
Country of Birth: Hungary
Nationality: Hungarian; American
Ethnicity: White
Education
E÷tv÷s Lorßnd University Budapest BA 1920 PhD 1924 both in Physical Chemistry
Professional Life
Field of Study: Biophysics
Institution/Corporation: Cleveland Clinic Foundation; Westinghouse; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; New York University; University of Delaware
Degrees & Memberships: none
Awards & Achievements
Awards: 2012 National Inventors Hall of Fame; 1952 Achievement Award Society of Women Engineers; 1977 Lifetime Achievement Award National Academy of Sciences; 1945 OSRD Certificate of Merit for the Desalination Unit; 1977 Charles Greeley Abbot Award American Solar Energy Society; 2022 Google Doodle; asteroid 390743 Telkesmaria is named afer her
Achievements: Solar Thermal Storage System; known for thermoelectricity; one of her specialties was phase-change materials that absorb or release heat when they change from solid to liquid; worked to develop materials for use in the Apollo mission & Polaris missiles; 1981 helped the Dept of Energy develop & build Carlisle House in Carlise MA a fully solar-powered home
Known for her contributions to solar energy technology especially her invention of the solar distiller & the 1st solar-powered heating system designed for residences
Her nickname was The Sun Queen
1940s with eleanor Raymond, created Dover Sun House, 1 of the 1st solar-heated houses; 1953, they invented a solar oven
Held 27 patents Solar heating for residential housing was invented by Dr Maria Telkes in 1947. Dr. Telkes was a Psychiatrist in addition to being a Solar-Power Pioneer