Erna Hamburger | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | September 14, 1911 |
| Died | May 15, 1988 |
Erna Hamburger
editErna Hamburger (September 14, 1911 – May 15, 1988) was a Swiss engineer and professor. In 1957, she became professor of electrometry at the University of Lausanne. She was the first woman in the history of Switzerland to be named a professor at a STEM university.[1][2][3]
Life and Career
editErna Hamburger born on September 14, 1911 in Brussels, Belgium to Frederick and Else Müller. She went to secondary school in Kissingen, Bavaria. In 1933, Hamburger received an engineering-electrician diploma from the EPFL. Hamburger also received a doctorate in technical sciences from the EPFL in 1936.[2]
Before becoming a professor at the University of Lausanne, Hamburger was the head of work at the electrotechnical laboratory at the EPFL. Other positions Hamburger held include: President of the Swiss Association of Women in Liberal and Commercial Careers, president of the Association of University Women of Vaud ,and Vice President of the International Federation of University Women.[2]
One of her major innovations was her creation of an apparatus for radio-wave reception. Her radio-wave research included topics such as a system of optical registration from tone frequencies and ultra-short waves.[1]
Hamburger joined the Swiss military in 1939 and was promoted to chief of the telecommunication troops in 1950.[1]
Legacy
editHamburger was an advocate for higher education.[3] Shortly after her death, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne -Women in Science and Humanities Foundation was created. The primary goal of this foundation is to promote and support women in higher education. Every year, the Erna Hamburger Prize is awarded to "the most influential woman in science" that year.[4]
| Year | Laureate | Impact in STEM |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Julia Higgins | Chemical engineer |
| 2007 | Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard | Biologist and Nobel Prize winner |
| 2008 | Frances E. Allen | Computer scientist and IBM Fellow Emerita |
| 2009 | Kazuyo Sejima | Architect and Pritzker Prize winner |
| 2010 | Lisa Randall | Physicist |
| 2011 | Ada Yonath | Biologist and Nobel Prize winner |
| 2012 | Felicitas Pauss | Physicist at ETH Zurich |
| 2013 | Julia King, Baroness Brown of Cambridge | British engineer |
| 2014 | Esther Duflo | Economist |
| 2015 | Jill Farrant | Phytologist |
| 2016 | May-Britt Moser | Psychologist and Neuroscientist, winner of 2014 Nobel Prize |
| 2017 | Mary O'Kane | Australian scientist and engineer |
| 2018 | Jennifer Widom | Electrical engineering and computing |
References
edit- ^ a b c The biographical dictionary of women in science : pioneering lives from ancient times to the mid-20th century. Ogilvie, Marilyn Bailey., Harvey, Joy Dorothy. New York: Routledge. 2000. ISBN 0415920388. OCLC 40776839.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ a b c "Hamburger, Erna". hls-dhs-dss.ch (in French). Retrieved 2019-07-10.
- ^ a b "14 juin: inauguration de la "Salle du 1er février 1959"". www.vd.ch (in French). Retrieved 2019-07-11.
- ^ a b "wishfoundation-2 | Erna Hamburger Prize". EPFL WISH Foundation-Women in Science and Humanities. Retrieved 2019-07-11.