Sheila Widnall

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
Sheila E. Widnall
Wfm Widnall se1.jpg
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
(1938-07-13) July 13, 1938 (age 86)
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 and the 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, S.M. 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.

On July 4, 1993, in the wake of the Tailhook scandal, President Bill Clinton announced her nomination to be Secretary of the Air Force.[4] 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.[5] During her tenure she handled the Kelly Flinn scandal.[6] She was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1995,[7] serving as vice-president from 1998 to 2005[8] and winning their Arthur M. Bueche Award in 2009.[9]

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.[10]

Writings

References

<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

Cite error: Invalid <references> tag; parameter "group" is allowed only.

Use <references />, or <references group="..." />

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

  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Military offices
Preceded by
General Merrill A. McPeak
(acting)
 United States Secretary of the Air Force
August 6, 1993 - October 31, 1997		 Succeeded by
F. Whitten Peters
  1. ↑ "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.
  2. ↑ "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
  3. ↑ "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.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Sheila_Widnall&oldid=4874001"