Sheila Widnall

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Sheila E. Widnall (official portrait)

Sheila Evans Widnall 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 woman to lead an entire branch of the US military in the Department of Defense (Secretary of Transportation Elizabeth Dole had previously been in charge of the United States Coast Guard).

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.

Widnall was a member of the board of investigation into the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. She currently works with the Lean Aerospace Initiative.

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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

v • d • e United States Secretaries of the Air Force

Symington • Finletter • Talbott • Quarles • Douglas • Sharp • Zuckert • Brown • Seamans • McLucas • Plummer* • Reed • Stetson • Mark • Orr • Rourke • Aldridge • McGovern* • Welch* • Rice • Donley* • McPeak* • Widnall • Peters • Delaney* • Roche • Dominguez* • Geren* • Wynne * denotes acting secretary