Sheila Widnall
Sheila Widnall | |
|---|---|
| 18th United States Secretary of the Air Force | |
| In office August 6, 1993 – October 31, 1997 | |
| President | Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by | Donald Rice |
| Succeeded by | F. Whitten Peters |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Sheila Marie Evans July 13, 1938 Tacoma, Washington, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | William Widnall |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (SB, SM, ScD) |
| Known for | Widnall Instability |
| Engineering career | |
| Discipline | Aeronautical engineering |
| Employer | MIT |
| Awards | Society of Women Engineers Achievement Award, National Women's Hall of Fame, Women in Aviation Pioneer Hall of Fame, National Academy of Engineering |
Sheila Marie Evans Widnall (born July 13, 1938) is an American aerospace researcher and Institute Professor Emerita at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She served as the United States Secretary of the Air Force from 1993 to 1997, becoming the first woman to hold that post and the first woman to lead an entire branch of the United States Armed Forces in the Department of Defense. She was elected to the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.