Sheila E. Widnall | |
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Sheila E. Widnall (official portrait) | |
18th Secretary of the Air Force | |
In office August 6, 1993 – October 31, 1997 | |
President | Bill Clinton |
Preceded by | Donald B. Rice |
Succeeded by | F. Whitten Peters |
Personal details | |
Born | Sheila Marie Evans July 13, 1938 Tacoma, Washington |
Nationality | United States |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) | William Soule Widnall |
Children | William Widnall Ann Marie Widnall |
Alma mater | MIT |
Profession | aeronautical engineer professor academic administrator |
[1][2][3] |
Sheila Marie Evans Widnall (born July 13, 1938) is an American aerospace researcher and Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She served as United States Secretary of the Air Force between 1993 and 1997, making her the first female Secretary of the Air Force[4] and first woman to lead an entire branch of the U.S. military in the Department of Defense.
Widnall graduated from MIT with an S.B. in 1960, Master in 1961, and Sc.D. in 1964, all in Aeronautics. She was appointed as the Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics in 1986 and joined the Engineering Systems Division, was Chair of the Faculty 1979–1981, and has served as MIT's Associate Provost from 1992–1993. In 1988 she was the President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
President of the United States Bill Clinton announced her nomination to be Secretary of the Air Force on the Fourth of July, 1993.[5] The Senate received her nomination July 22, 1993, and confirmed her two weeks later on August 5, 1993, 183 days after inauguration and 197 after the office became vacant.[6] During her tenure she handled the Kelly Flinn scandal.[7] She was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1995,[8] serving as vice-president from 1998 to 2005[9] and winning their Arthur M. Bueche Award in 2009.[10]
Widnall was a member of the board of investigation into the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.
She currently works with the Lean Advancement Initiative.
Research[]
Widnall's research has been focused on Fluid mechanics, in particular the aerodynamics of high-speed vehicles, helicopters, aircraft wakes, and turbulence. One of her most notable works is on the elliptical instability mechanism with Raymond Pierrehumbert.[11]
Writings[]
- "Science and the Atari Generation." Science (August 12, 1983): 607.
- "AAAS Presidential Lecture: Voices from the Pipeline." Science (September 30, 1988): 1740-1745.
References[]
- ↑ "Sheila E. Widnall." Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed. 17 Vols. Gale Research, 1998. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2008. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC Document Number: K1631006966. Fee. Accessed 2008-10-31. Updated: 12/12/1998.
- ↑ "Sheila Widnall." Notable Women Scientists. Gale Group, 2000. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2008. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC Document Number: K1668000457. Fee. Accessed 2008-10-31. Updated: 11/05/2000
- ↑ "Sheila E. Widnall." Notable Scientists: From 1900 to the Present. Online. Gale Group, 2008. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2008. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC Document Number: K1619002898 Fee. Accessed 2008-10-31. Updated: 01/01/2001.
- ↑ As of December 2008, Widnall remains the only woman to serve as Secretary of the Air Force.
- ↑ Jehl, Douglas (1993-07-04). "M.I.T. Professor Is First Woman Chosen as Secretary of Air Force". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE3D91330F937A35754C0A965958260. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
- ↑ Palmer, Betsy (2005-03-23) (PDF). 9/11 Commission Recommendations: The Senate Confirmation Process for Presidential Nominees. CRS Report for Congress. Congressional Research Service. http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/46484.pdf. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ↑ Stout, David (1997-05-24). "'Part of Me Has Died,' Pilot Says in Apology". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E1D7103BF937A15756C0A961958260&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss. Retrieved 2008-10-31. "Even as she asked in vain for an honorable discharge, First Lieut. Kelly J. Flinn said in a letter to the Secretary of the Air Force that having to leave the service was a punishment she would carry to her grave."
- ↑ National Academy of Engineering. "The Honorable Sheila E. Widnall". http://www.nae.edu/nae/naepub.nsf/Members+By+UNID/F197B4761F7D7DAD8625755200622947?opendocument.
- ↑ "National Academy of Engineering Presented Extraordinary Impact Awards". 2009. pp. B10.
- ↑ "NAE announces award winners John Casani and Sheila Widnall". 1 October 2009. http://www.physorg.com/wire-news/15855654/nae-announces-award-winners-john-casani-and-sheila-widnall.html.
- ↑ Pierrehumbert, Raymond; Widnall, Sheila (1982). "The Two-Dimensional and Three-Dimensional Instabilities of a Spatially Periodic Shear Layer". pp. 59–82.
Further reading[]
- "Widnall of MIT Is New President-elect Of AAAS." Physics Today (February 1986), p. 69.
- Biography, "Dr. Sheila E. Widnall." Office of the Secretary of the Air Force/Public Affairs, November 1993.
- Dr. Sheila E. Widnall, "<http://archive.is/20130221044842/http://www.af.mil/information/bios/bio_print.asp?bioID=7582>", July 23, 1997.
- Air Force Times, August 2, 1993, p. 4.
- Sears, William R., "Sheila E. Widnall: President-Elect of AAAS," in Association Affairs, June 6, 1986, pp. 1119–1200.
- Stone, Steve, "Air Force Secretary Salutes Female Aviators," in Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, October 10, 1993, p. B3.
- "USAF Head Approved," in Aviation Week & Space Technology, August 9, 1993, p. 26.
- Biography, Dr. Sheila E. Widnall, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force/Public Affairs, November 1993.
- Ewing, Lee, Air Force Times, Panelists Laud Widnall, Approve Her Nomination, August 2, 1993, p. 4.
- Stone, Steve, Aviation Week & Space Technology, USAF Head Approved, August 9, 1993, p. 26.
- Stone, Steve, Physics Today, Widnall of MIT Is New President-elect Of AAAS, February 1986, p. 69.
- Biography, Dr. Sheila E. Widnall, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force/Public Affairs, November 1993.
- Nature Q&A with Sheila Widnall
External links[]
- USAF biography
- NASA biography
- CNN All Politics biography
- Women’s International Center biography
- IEEE biography
- MIT faculty page
- "DoD image". U.S. Department of Defense. http://www.dodmedia.osd.mil/DVIC_View/Still_Details.cfm?SDAN=DFST9500440&JPGPath=/Assets/Still/1995/Air_Force/DF-ST-95-00440.JPG. Retrieved December 20, 2008 * Sheila Widnall Playlist Appearance on WMBR's Dinnertime Sampler radio show March 2, 2005.
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