Telkes was born on December 12, 1900, in Budapest, Austria-Hungary (now in Hungary). She studied physical chemistry at the University of Budapest, graduating with a B.A. in 1920 and a Ph.D. in 1924. Telkes became an instructor at the institution in 1924. She decided to immigrate to the United States, however, after visiting a relative in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1925 Telkes accepted a position as a biophysicist for the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. There she worked with American surgeon George Washington Crile to create a photoelectric device that recorded brain waves.
In 1952 Telkes became the first recipient of the Society of Women Engineers Achievement Award. She received a lifetime achievement award in 1977 from the National Academy of Sciences Building Research Advisory Board for her contributions to solar-heated building technology. That same year Telkes received the Charles Greeley Abbot Award from the American Solar Energy Society. She died on December 2, 1995, in Budapest.
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Telkes was born on December 12, 1900, in Budapest, Austria-Hungary (now in Hungary). She studied physical chemistry at the University of Budapest, graduating with a B.A. in 1920 and a Ph.D. in 1924. Telkes became an instructor at the institution in 1924. She decided to immigrate to the United States, however, after visiting a relative in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1925 Telkes accepted a position as a biophysicist for the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. There she worked with American surgeon George Washington Crile to create a photoelectric device that recorded brain waves.
In 1952 Telkes became the first recipient of the Society of Women Engineers Achievement Award. She received a lifetime achievement award in 1977 from the National Academy of Sciences Building Research Advisory Board for her contributions to solar-heated building technology. That same year Telkes received the Charles Greeley Abbot Award from the American Solar Energy Society. She died on December 2, 1995, in Budapest.
Mária Telkes (1900-1995). Hungarian-born American physical chemist and biophysicist best known for her invention of the solar distiller and the first solar-powered heating system designed for residences. She also invented other devices capable of storing energy captured from sunlight.
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Known as the “Sun Queen” for her lifelong promotion of solar heating, Maria Telkes was a press-friendly public intellectual who appeared on TV and in countless newspaper stories and magazine articles, but she struggled to have her aspirations and work taken seriously by her colleagues and collaborators throughout her career.
Each month, our Journeys of Innovation series tells the stories of inventors or entrepreneurs who have made a positive difference in the world. This month, Axel Alfaro-Hernandez''s story focuses on Dr. Maria Telkes, an avid advocate for solar heating who used the media to promote its use despite pushback from colleagues.
Do you know an innovator or entrepreneur with an interesting story?
Maria Telkes labeled this picture from 1953 "Leaving MIT." Her demeanor in the picture contrasts with her usual cheerful disposition. She would overcome objections from colleagues throughout her career to become a pioneer in solar energy. She was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2012.
(Courtesy of Maria Telkes Papers, Design and the Arts Special Collections, Arizona State University Library)
U.S. service members show how to use Telkes’ solar stills to make sea water drinkable. In one of the final parts of the process, the balloon-like containers are left under the sun so the sea water will evaporate.
"Her mind was somewhere else, it was not on these everyday things. She did not cook, she did not sew. She was a visionary and thinking about projects and problems, and the other things didn’t matter."
Maria Telkes (left) and architect Eleanor Raymond (right) in front of the Dover Sun House. At the time, the house was a unique collaboration between three women—Telkes, Raymond, and philanthropist Amelia Peabody—which contributed to the publicity it garnered. Raymond developed a friendship with Telkes, whom she called "a versatile lady, and an amusing one."
(Courtesy of the Frances Loeb Library. Harvard University Graduate School of Design)
A promotional photo of the solar oven commissioned by Maria Telkes. Telkes’ solar oven design was fairly simple. An insulated metal box is covered with glass over the area where food is placed. The sun’s heat through the glass is then amplified by four metal plates at 60-degree angles, and by mirrors between the plates.
At the University of Delaware, Telkes and other collaborators finally built a successful solar house prototype, Solar One, which generated both heat and electricity from the sun. Though some credit it with starting a solar heating craze, its technology became antiquated with the advent of photovoltaic panels.
It is most appropriate that our untapped potential should develop the untapped energy source for the greatest benefit of the least developed group of humanity. Perhaps there will be some of you who will also ‘Reach for the Sun.''
Mária Telkes (December 12, 1900 – December 2, 1980) was a Hungarian-American biophysicist, engineer, and inventor who worked on solar energy technologies.[1]
She moved to the United States in 1925 to work as a biophysicist. She became an American citizen in 1937 and started work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to create practical uses of solar energy in 1939.[1]
During World War II, she developed a solar water distillation device, deployed at the end of the war, which saved the lives of downed airmen and torpedoed sailors.[1][2][3] Her goal was to create a version for villagers in poor and arid regions.[4] Telkes, often called by colleagues The Sun Queen,[5][6] is considered one of the founders of solar thermal storage systems. After the war, she became an associate research professor at MIT.
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