The Story of Edith Clarke: The First Female electrical engineer

The first great American woman in the history of electrical engineering, Edith Clarke, made several great contributions to the area of power engineering. Born on February 10, 1883, in Ellicott City, Maryland, she was the daughter of one of nine children from a farming family. At the age of 12 years, Clarke lost both parents and thus grew up under the guardianship of an older sister. At the age of 18 years, she inherited a modest amount of money and was admitted to Vassar College, from which in 1908 she graduated with honors in mathematics and astronomy.

After teaching mathematics and physics in private schools, Clarke became a “computer” at AT&T in 1912, which included doing complicated mathematical calculations. She later did some evening studies in electrical engineering at Columbia University. In 1918 she entered MIT and in 1919 earned her Master of Science degree in electrical engineering, the first woman to receive such from the institution. 

While at General Electric (GE), Clarke achieved many firsts. She took a brief leave from GE in 1921, becoming a physics teacher at the Constantinople Women's College in Turkey. In 1922, she returned to GE, and was the first American woman to hold a professional appointment as an electrical engineer. Clarke performed many analyses of electrical power systems. She also developed a graphical device called the "Clarke calculator," intended to simplify complex calculations for electrical engineers. In 1926 she became the first female speaker at the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. Her talk that day was power transmission system stability - an area of growing interest today as systems are extending in length and complexity.

When Clarke started teaching electrical engineering at the University of Texas in Austin back in 1947, she became the first female electrical engineering professor in the United States. Until her retirement in 1956, she taught a whole generation of engineers with her extensive experience and vast knowledge that proved highly beneficial.

In the course of her work, Clarke received many honors and awards. She was also the first woman to become a professional member of Tau Beta Pi, which is the oldest engineering honor society in the United States. Clarke became the first woman to be inducted as a Fellow of AIEE in the year 1948. She also received the 1954 Society of Women Engineers Achievement Award for making so many original contributions that form a basis for both the theory of stability and the analysis of electrical circuits. In 2015, she was inducted posthumously into the National Inventors Hall of Fame for her work on inventions related to electrical engineering. 

However, Clarke's legacy is not only about the technical contribution but also about breaching the gender barriers for future generations of women who could aspire to enter this highly male-dominated engineering field. Her work on developing methods for safe and efficient distribution of electrical power holds considerable implications today for industrial practice and delineates one of the fundamental ways that women have succeeded in pushing forward the domains of engineering and technology.

Submitted by Alicia M.,
Senior Captain
FRC Team 7503 Radicubs
Frisco, TX
radicubs.com | @theradicubs
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Works Cited:
“Edith Clarke.” Maryland State Archives. https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/educ/exhib its/womenshallfame/html/clarke.html

“Edith Clarke.” EngineerGirl. https://www.engineergirl.org/125222/Edith-Clarke

“Edith Clarke.” Edison Tech Center. https://edisontechcenter.org/Clarke.html
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“Edith Clarke.” USPTO. https://www.uspto.gov/about-us/edith-clarke

“Edith Clarke: Architect of Modern Power Distribution.” IEEE Spectrum.https://spectrum.i eee.org/edith-clarke-modern-power-distribution

“Edith Clarke.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_Clarke