Mary Blade
Mary Plumb Blade (1913-1994) was an American engineer, director of the Green Camp from 1955 to 1972, and full-time professor of mechanical engineering in the engineering school of The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art from 1946 to 1978.[1] She graduated with a B.S. in engineering from the University of Utah and an M.S. in industrial engineering from Columbia University.[2] At the time of her appointment as a professor, Blade was "the only woman on the Cooper Union engineering faculty (where she initially taught drawing, mathematics and design) and one of few women on any engineering faculty in the United States." Blade was also an avid and accomplished mountain climber.[3]
Mary Blade | |
---|---|
Blade in 1946 | |
Born | 1913 Salt Lake City, Utah |
Died | 1994 |
Other names | Mary Francis Blade |
Citizenship | American |
Scientific career | |
Fields | industrial engineering, mechanical engineering |
Institutions | The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art |
Mary Blade helped organize the May 27–28, 1950 inaugural weekend of the Society of Women Engineers at Cooper Union's Green Engineering Camp.[4]
In 1978, Blade was featured in Chair: The current state of the art, with the who, the why, and the what of it by Peter Bradford and Barbara Prete with a chapter titled "Physical Forces and Damages, Your Sitting Behavior, Move."[5][6]
In 1980, the Engineering Design Graphics Division of the American Society for Engineering Education awarded Blade its Distinguished Service Award.[7]
References
- Brooks, Mitsuko. "Records of Cooper Union commencements, 1975-1988". The Cooper Union Library. The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
- Bradford, Peter (1978). Prete, Barbara (ed.). Chair: The current state of the art, with the who, the why, and the what of it. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Publishers. pp. 56–65.
- "Mary Blade, standing at blackboard". Smithsonian Institution Archives. Smithsonian Institution.
- "The Founders" (PDF). SWE Magazine of the Society of Women Engineers: 34. Spring 2015. ISSN 1070-6232. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 March 2020.
Gathering at the Cooper Union's Green Engineering Camp on a spring weekend, the following women founded the Society of Women Engineers on May 27, 1950, known as Founders' Day: [...] Mary Blade [...]Beatrice Alice Hicks [...] Grace M. Hopper
- Soulellis, Paul. "Chair". Soulellis.com. Soulellis Studio, Inc. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
- "This is my great aunt Mary Plumb Blade". So Nails. Tumblr.com. Archived from the original on 7 May 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
- "The distinguished service award". Engineering Design Graphics Division. The American Society for Engineering Education. Retrieved 9 July 2013.