Google has given recognition to the discoverer and scientist Maria Telkes on her 122nd birth anniversary. Maria was recognized for her research in solar energy and was later given the title of “Solar Queen” for her contribution to solar thermal storage systems.
She was born in Budapest, Hungary and she perused a study in physical chemistry at the Eötvös Loránd University of Budapest. She was one of a few scientists that started to work on solar energy consumption.
Maria arrived in the U.S. in 1925 to work as a biophysicist at Cleveland Clinic Foundation. Later when she got her U.S. citizenship in 1937 and started working at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and focused on the practical uses of solar energy in 1939.
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The prime focus of Solar Queen was to improve the use of energy that is less costly so that it can help poor and needy people with an economical source of power.
Maria Telkes was the first successful scientist to develop a solar-powered house, a solar-powered destination unit, and a solar-powered oven. She had over 20 solely developed patents under her work and also worked on many other projects where she played a significant role in her contribution.
In 1940, she worked with an architect Eleanor Raymond to work on developing a solar-powered house. After the successful completion of the project, the term ‘solar energy’ received wide acknowledgment.
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The Solar Queen later commissioned with Ford and developed a solar-powered oven and the same technology is still in use. Her insights on solar energy helped various famous universities including NYU and Princeton University.
Maria Telkes Awards & Achievements
Maria Telkes won the Society of Women Engineers Achievement Awards in 1952. The lifetime achievement award was presented to her by the National Academy of Sciences Building Research Advisory Board. The award was given to her for her invention of solar-heated building technology.