Irene Carswell Peden is an American engineer who has contributed much to the field of electrical engineering. She is known for being the first American woman scientist to live and work in the interior of the Antarctic, where she developed new methods to analyze the deep glacial ice by studying the effect it has on radio waves.
Video Irene C. Peden
Early life
Born in 1925 in Topeka, Kansas, Irene was the oldest of three girls, her mother also the oldest child of four in a Swedish immigrant family. Her mother was a school teacher in math and music education. Her father was in the automobile business. She graduated from Central High School in Kansas City, Missouri. After graduating from Kansas City Junior College, Irene went on to graduate from the University of Colorado with a degree in electrical engineering in 1947. She later went to graduate school at Stanford University, where she conducted research for her doctoral dissertation in the Stanford Microwave Lab. In 1962, Irene became the first woman to earn a PhD in engineering from Stanford.
Maps Irene C. Peden
Professional career
After graduating from the University of Colorado from 1947 to 1949, Irene worked as a junior engineer for Delaware Power and Light Company, and then for Aircraft Radio systems Laboratory of the Stanford Research Institute from 1949 to 1950. From 1953 to 1954, she worked as a research engineer for Midwest Research Institute.
Once she earned her doctorate degree, Irene joined the electrical engineering faculty at the University of Washington, first as an assistant to associate professor from 1961 to 1971, and then promoted to full professor in 1971. Later, she was an associate dean of engineering from 1973 to 1977, and then the associate chair of the electrical engineering department from 1983 to 1986.
In 1970, Irene became the first American woman engineer or scientist to conduct research in the Antarctic. While there, she conducted research with a grant from the Polar Upper Atmosphere Program at the National Science Foundation. Because of the significance of her work, the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) named a line of cliffs near Rhodes Icefall after her scientific contributions, now called Peden Cliffs (74°57?S 136°28?W).
Awards and honors
Irene Peden was elected member of the National Academy of Engineering in 1993 for her leadership in engineering education in antennas and propagation and contributions to radioscience in the polar region. Also that same year, the National Science Foundation named her as the Engineer of the Year. Amongst her other numerous awards includes being inducted into the ASEE Engineering Educators Hall of Fame. She is also a Fellow of IEEE, which honored her with their Distinguished Achievement Award and Millennium Medal for 2000, and the Centennial Medal in 1984. She is a Fellow of the Explorer's Club.
References
Sources
- NAE (1993). "Dr. Irene C. Peden". Members directory. National Academy of Engineering. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
- SWE (13 March 2008). "Irene Peden". Engineering Pioneers. Society of Women Engineers. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
- Peden, Irene C. (1998). "If You Fail, There Won't Be Another Woman on the Antarctic Continent for a Generation". In Rothblum, Ester D.; Weinstock, Jackqueline S.; Morris, Jessica F. Women in the Antarctic. Binghamton, NY: The Haworth Press. pp. 17-30. ISBN 0-7890-0247-7.
- Peden, Irene (2 March 2002a). "SWE Pioneers" (PDF). Society of Women Engineers (Interview). Interview with Kata, Lauren. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
- Peden, Irene (8 May 2002b). "Interview" (PDF). Polar Oral History Program (Interview). Interview with Shoemaker, Brian. Seattle, WA. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
- Smith, George S. (August 1969). "Early History of the Department of Electrical Engineering" (PDF). University of Washington. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
- Stanley, Autumn (1993). Mothers and Daughters of Invention: Notes for a Revised History of Technology. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. pp. 387-388. ISBN 0-8135-2197-1.
- Wayne, Tiffany K. (2011). "Peden, Irene (Carswell)". American Women of Science Since 1900: Essays A-H. 1. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. pp. 113, 754-756. ISBN 978-1-59884-158-9.
External links
- United States Antarctic Program
- University of Washington Electrical Engineering Bio
Source of article : Wikipedia
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