Sheila Widnall

Sheila E. Widnall
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
July 13, 1938 (1938-07-13) (age 73)
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[4] and first woman to lead an entire branch of the U.S. military in the Department of Defense. (Secretary of Transportation Elizabeth Dole had previously been in charge of the United States Coast Guard, which falls under the Department of Transportation during peacetime.)

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.

President of the United States Bill Clinton announced her nomination to be Secretary of the Air Force on the Fourth of July, 1993.[5] 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.[6] During her tenure she handled the Kelly Flinn scandal.[7] She was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1995,[8] serving as vice-president from 1998 to 2005[9] and winning their Arthur M. Bueche Award in 2009.[10]

Widnall was a member of the board of investigation into the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.

She currently works with the Lean Advancement Initiative.

Contents

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.[11]

Writings

References

  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. ^ As of December 2008, Widnall remains the only woman to serve as Secretary of the Air Force.
  5. ^ Jehl, Douglas (1993-07-04). "M.I.T. Professor Is First Woman Chosen as Secretary of Air Force". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE3D91330F937A35754C0A965958260. Retrieved 2008-10-31. 
  6. ^ Palmer, Betsy (2005-03-23) (PDF). 9/11 Commission Recommendations: The Senate Confirmation Process for Presidential Nominees. CRS Report for Congress. Congressional Research Service. http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/46484.pdf. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  7. ^ Stout, David (1997-05-24). "'Part of Me Has Died,' Pilot Says in Apology". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E1D7103BF937A15756C0A961958260&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss. Retrieved 2008-10-31. "Even as she asked in vain for an honorable discharge, First Lieut. Kelly J. Flinn said in a letter to the Secretary of the Air Force that having to leave the service was a punishment she would carry to her grave." 
  8. ^ National Academy of Engineering. "The Honorable Sheila E. Widnall". http://www.nae.edu/nae/naepub.nsf/Members+By+UNID/F197B4761F7D7DAD8625755200622947?opendocument. 
  9. ^ "National Academy of Engineering Presented Extraordinary Impact Awards". Aerospace America 47 (10): B10. 2009. 
  10. ^ "NAE announces award winners John Casani and Sheila Widnall". 1 October 2009. http://www.physorg.com/wire-news/15855654/nae-announces-award-winners-john-casani-and-sheila-widnall.html. 
  11. ^ Pierrehumbert, Raymond; Widnall, Sheila (1982). "The Two-Dimensional and Three-Dimensional Instabilities of a Spatially Periodic Shear Layer". Journal of Fluid Mechanics 114: 59–82. 

Further reading

External links

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
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 • Donley
* denotes acting secretary • United States Under Secretary of the Air Force