Sheila Widnall
Professor, Organization leader
1938 –
Who is Sheila Widnall?
Sheila Marie Evans Widnall 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 and first woman to lead an entire branch of the U.S. military in the Department of Defense.
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. 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. During her tenure she handled the Kelly Flinn scandal.
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- Born
- 1938
Tacoma - Also known as
- Sheila E Widnall
- Sheila Evans
- Spouses
- Children
- Ethnicity
- White American
- Nationality
- United States of America
- Profession
- Education
- Doctor of Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Aeronautics
( - 1964) - Master of Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Aeronautics
( - 1961) - Bachelor of Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Aeronautics
( - 1960)
- Doctor of Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Employment
- United States Air Force
(1993 - 1997) - President, American Association for the Advancement of Science
- Lean Aerospace Initiative
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- United States Air Force
Submitted
on July 23, 2013
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"Sheila Widnall." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 25 Apr. 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/sheila_e_widnall>.
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