HVAC/R
“The woman who joins the procession of engineers today, tomorrow, and tomorrow’s tomorrow benefits by a rich heritage bequeathed to her by (those who came before). She assumes automatically the responsibility to further prove that petticoats and slide rules are compatible, and she must not carry the responsibility lightly. Her task is to widen the trails blazed for her–and more. She must build them into great highways for women engineers of the future to travel, free of prejudices and discrimination.”
In honor of Women’s History month, I’d like to tell you about one of the most important women in the HVAC field, Margaret Ingles. Margaret Ingels was the first woman from the University of Kentucky to graduate with a degree in Engineering. After graduating she began working for the Carrier Engineering Corporation, where her curiosity for air conditioning was piqued. She decided to join the Carrier Corporation to pursue more knowledge on air conditioning and became the first woman in the United States to obtain a degree in Mechanical Engineering, afterwards she went and worked for the American Society of Heating and Ventilation Engineers’ research lab to continue advancing her knowledge.
After a few years she returned to the Carrier Corporation and became its spokesperson to promote the project they had been working on, residential air conditioning. She traveled across the country and showcased the benefits of residential air conditioning while never stopping her research. She had spoken to more than 10,000 people and continued her travels from 1932 to 1952. She published roughly 50 papers and delivered more than 200 speeches, the greatest of them being “Petticoats and Slide Rules”, where the quote above is from.
Today, Margaret Ingles has her memory honored by her alma mater, the University of Kentucky by naming one of their dormitory halls “Ingles Hall ” and having her listed as a distinguished alumni. To conclude, the world of modern HVAC would not be what it is today without the discoveries and innovations of Margaret Ingles.