1st Lady of Engineering
March is National Women’s History Month, and in its honor Purdue Industrial Engineering salutes America’s “First Lady of Engineering” Lillian Gilbreth.
Gilbreth (1878-1972) was an industrial engineering pioneer, the first woman faculty member in the Purdue University College of Engineering (1935-1948), advisor to six presidents, friend of Amelia Earhart, improver of surgical procedures, designer of equipment and procedures for disabled veterans and homemakers – and mother of 12 children!
The 1950 and 2003 movies, "Cheaper by the Dozen", portray the Gilbreths' often-humorous family life. But Gilbreth accomplished much more than appears in the movies. She personifies the 2018 Women's History Month theme of "Nevertheless She Persisted: Honoring Women Who Fight All Forms of Discrimination Against Women" - and did so with grace, tact and intelligence.