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IN MEMORIAM
EDITH CLARKE
Edith Clarke, retired professor of
electrical engineering, died on October 29, 1959. She was 76.
Professor Clarke was born on February
10, 1883, in Howard County, Maryland. She received a bachelor's degree
from Vassar College in 1908 and a master's degree from the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology in 1919.
Professor Clarke was an engineer with
the General Electric Company from 1919 to 1945, when she retired. She
joined the faculty of The University of Texas at Austin in 1947 and
taught for ten years, retiring in 1957. In joining the UT Austin faculty,
Professor Clarke became the first female professor of electrical engineering
in the country. She was an authority on electric power systems and worked
on the design and building of a number of dams in the West.
Professor Clarke published a two-volume
edition of Circuit Analysis of A-C Power Systems (1943 and 1950)
and numerous papers in AIEE Transactions and General Electric
Review. She won two awards from the American Institute of Electrical
Engineers, the Best Regional Paper Prize in 1932 and the Best National
Paper Prize in 1941.
In 1926 she became the first woman to
deliver a paper before the American Institute of Electrical Engineers.
Professor Clarke was also the first female engineer to achieve professional
standing in Tau Beta Pi, the largest and oldest engineering fraternity
in the country, and the first woman named a Fellow of the American Institute
of Electrical Engineers. In 1954 she was recognized by the Society of
Women Engineers for outstanding contributions to the field. In addition,
she was listed in Who's Who in Engineering, American Women,
Careers for Women, Women Can Be Engineers, and Men
of Science.
<signed>
John R. Durbin, Secretary
The General Faculty
Biographical sketch prepared by Teresa
Palomo Acosta and posted on the Faculty Council web site on February
21, 2001 and updated on April 25, 2003. Additional biographical sources
can be found in the UT Office of Public Affairs.
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