Kitty Joyner
Kitty O'Brien Joyner | |
|---|---|
 Joyner analyzing the operation of a wind tunnel turbine at NACA Langley in 1952 | |
| Born | Kitty Wingfield O'Brien[1] July 11, 1916 |
| Died | August 16, 1993 (aged 77) |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Electrical engineer |
| Years active | 1939 – 71 |
| Employers | |
| Organization | IEEE |
| Known for | First woman engineer at the Memorial Langley Aeronautical Laboratory |
| Spouse | Upshur T. Joyner |
| Awards | Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award |
Kitty O'Brien Joyner (July 11, 1916 – August 16, 1993) was an American electrical engineer with the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), and then with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) upon its replacement of NACA in 1958. She was hired in 1939 as the organization's first woman engineer, shortly after she had completed her degree as the first woman to graduate from the University of Virginia's engineering program.
Early life and education
Joyner was born in Charlottesville, Virginia, and graduated from Sweet Briar College in 1937. At the time, women were not admitted to the University of Virginia (UVA) engineering school. Joyner initiated a successful lawsuit to gain admission; two years later, in 1939, she became the first woman to graduate from the University of Virginia with a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering.[2][3] While at UVA, she received the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award for excellence of character and service to humanity.[2][4]
Career
The NACA Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory (LMAL, later the Langley Research Center) hired Joyner as an electrical engineer in September 1939, making her their first woman engineer. Joyner worked for NACA/NASA for several decades, achieving the title Branch Head of the Facilities Cost Estimating Branch, Office of Engineering and Technical Services, and managing several wind tunnels, including supersonic wind tunnels.[5][4]
Joyner retired from NASA in May 1971.
Joyner was active in engineering organizations and societies. She was a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers and an Honorary Life Member of the Engineers Club of the Virginia Peninsula.[4]
Personal life
Joyner's husband, Upshur T. Joyner, also worked at NACA/NASA Langley for 40 years as a physicist, retiring in 1971, the same year as Kitty.[4]
Joyner and her husband lived in Poquoson, Virginia, and had two children, a son named Upshur, who died of leukemia at the age of 47 in 1990, and a daughter, Kate.[4]
Joyner died on August 16, 1993, at the age of 77. Her husband died a few months later, in November 1993, at the age of 85.[4][2]
In addition to her professional and personal engineering activities, she was also the first regent and organizer for the Charles Parish Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, which named an annual scholarship after her.[6] She was also a recipient of the United Daughters of the Confederacy Winnie Davis Award.[2]
References
- ^ "Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award Recipients". University of Virginia. Retrieved 2018-02-11. O'Brien was one of three 1939 recipients.
- ^ a b c d e Lineberry, Trivia (20 August 1993). "Obituaries - Kitty Joyner". Daily Press.
- ^ Adams, Joshua (December 23, 2016). "Local author spotlights under-the-radar female mathematicians at NASA". C-Ville.
- ^ a b c d e f "Kitty O'Brien Joyner". NASA CRGIS. NASA.
- ^ Hatch, Sybil E. (2006). Changing Our World: True Stories of Women Engineers. Reston, VA: ASCE Publications. p. 149. ISBN 9780784408353. OCLC 835993427.
- ^ "Faces/scholarships/degrees/honors". Daily Press. 5 July 1989.
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External links
- For additional details of Joyner's life, see "Kitty Wingfield O'Brien". FamilySearch. Retrieved 2018-06-26.
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Media related to Kitty O'Brien Joyner at Wikimedia Commons
