Sheila Marie Evans Widnall was born on July 13,1938 and is an American aerospace researcher and Institute Professor Emerita at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
10 Facts About Sheila Widnall
2.
Sheila Widnall served as United States Secretary of the Air Force from 1993 to 1997, making her the first woman to hold that post and the first woman to lead an entire branch of the United States Armed Forces in the Department of Defense.
3.
Sheila Widnall was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 2003.
4.
Sheila Widnall graduated from MIT with a SB in 1960, SM in 1961, and ScD in 1964, all in Aeronautics.
5.
Sheila Widnall was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences that same year.
6.
In 2000, Sheila Widnall was elected to the American Philosophical Society.
7.
Sheila Widnall was the first woman to head a branch of the US military.
8.
Sheila Widnall was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1985, serving as vice-president from 1998 to 2005 and winning their Arthur M Bueche Award in 2009.
9.
Sheila Widnall was a member of the board of investigation into the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.
10.
Sheila Widnall's research has been focused on fluid mechanics, in particular the aerodynamics of high-speed vehicles, helicopters, aircraft wakes, and turbulence.