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Doris Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf

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Doris Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf
Born(1922-02-15)February 15, 1922
DiedMarch 25, 2010(2010-03-25) (aged 88)
Charlottesville, Virginia
NationalityGerman
SpouseHeinz G. F. Wilsdorf
ChildrenGabriele 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 15, 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 Holm 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. ^ a b c d e Elizabeth H. Oakes (2007). Encyclopedia of World Scientists. Infobase Publishing. p. 417. ISBN 978-1438118826. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Tiffany K. Wayne (2011). American Women of Science Since 1900: Essays A-H. Vol.1. ABC-CLIO. pp. 590–591. ISBN 978-1598841589. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  3. ^ Pipkin, Josie (30 March 2010). "Pioneering Professor Doris Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf Dies; Service Thursday". UVA Today. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  4. ^ "Barrier-breaking professor Doris Wilsdorf dies at 88". The Daily Progress. 29 March 2010. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  5. ^ "Doris Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf". Contributions of 20th Century Women to Physics. University of California. 1997. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  6. ^ "Deutsche Gesellschaft für Materialkunde e.V.: Heyn-Denkmünze". www.dgm.de. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
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