Lois Graham

Lois Graham
Born1925 (1925)
Troy, New York, US
Died(2013-11-04)4 November 2013 (aged 88)
Other namesLois Graham McDowell
Education
  • B.S.ME, RPI, 1946
  • M.S.ME, IIT, 1949
  • Ph.D.ME, IIT, 1959
Awards
  • President (1955–1956) and Fellow Life Member, SWE
  • NSF-GRF, 1979
  • IIT Professional Achievement Award, 1980
  • IIT Julia Beveridge Award, 1991
  • IIT Person of the Millennium, 1999
  • RPI Hall of Fame, 2003
  • AAUW Named Scholarship Honoree, 2010–2011
  • Nominee, National Women's History Project National Women's History Month Honoree, 2013
  • IIT Lifetime Achievement Award, 2015
  • Fellow, ASHRAE
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions

Lois Graham (known early in her career as Lois Graham McDowell or Lois G. McDowell) (1925 – November 4, 2013) was a professor of thermodynamics and cryogenics. She was the first woman to earn a mechanical engineering PhD in the United States.[1][2]

Graham is remembered for her lifelong work recruiting young women into careers in science and engineering. She taught for nearly 40 years in the Illinois Institute of Technology's Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering program. Graham founded IIT's Women in Science and Engineering program, which recruited female high school students into science and engineering careers.[2][3]

  1. ^ Jenkins, Caroline (2003-10-03). "Edwards, New York Resident Lois Graham Inducted into Rensselaer's Alumni Hall of Fame". RPI News. Archived from the original on 2018-11-20. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  2. ^ a b "Canton woman nominated as women's history honoree for being first woman in country to earn doctorate in aerospace engineering". North Country Now. 2013-02-01. Archived from the original on 2018-11-20. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  3. ^ "Alumni Awards 2015: Lifetime Achievement Award: Lois Graham (M.S. ME '49, Ph.D. '59)". Illinois Institute of Technology. 2015. Archived from the original on 2018-11-20. Retrieved 2018-11-20.