Purdue Engineering’s first female electrical engineering graduate
Josephine Webb graduated from Purdue's College of Engineering in 1940, becoming the first woman to earn a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the institution. Webb was one of only five female engineering students at Purdue at that time. She later joined Westinghouse Electric Company as a design engineer, contributing to such projects as the electrical grids of the Coulee, Hoover and Boulder dams, and obtaining two patents for innovative designs. Webb's career also included roles at the Facsimile Development Laboratory of the Aiden Products Company, where she designed an 18-inch fax machine known for its exceptional resolution. Alongside her husband, Herbert J. Webb (BSEE 1940), she established a successful consulting firm with clients including The Boeing Company and the U.S. Bureau of Mines. The Society of Women Engineers, which named Josephine Webb a fellow, celebrates her as one of the earliest female electrical engineers in the U.S. She passed away in 2017 at 99.