On Monday December 12th, 2022, Google Doddle is celebrating biophysicist, researcher, and inventor Maria Telkes, a Hungarian-American who focused on solar energy innovations.
According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, Dr. Telkes, who was born in Budapest on December 12, 1900, is most known for creating the solar distiller and the first residential solar heating system.
She also developed solar energy harvesting and storing equipment. On December 2, 1995, she passed away in the capital of Hungary. As a result of her groundbreaking work, Dr. Telkes earned the moniker “Sun Queen.”
Dr. Telkes acquired up to 20 patents over the course of a multidecade career and made investments in a number of ground-breaking technology. Her 122nd birthday is commemorated in today’s Google doodle.
The photograph of Dr. Telkes and her solar experiment are visible in the animated doodle. It demonstrates how solar energy is absorbed and used to run various appliances in people’s homes.
Dr. Maria Telkes was raised Budapest and within her place of birth, she pursued her studies in physical chemistry, earning a BA in 1920 and a PhD in 1924.
As a member of the Solar Energy Committee, Dr. Telkes continued her work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
She was asked by the US government to assist in creating a solar distiller that turned seawater into fresh water during World War II. Soldiers stationed in the Pacific theater employed this life-saving device.
In 1937, Dr. Telkes obtained her citizenship. Up until the end of her career, she kept creating solar energy applications. She created the first contemporary home heated by solar energy, which was erected in Dover, Massachusetts, in 1948, along with American architect Eleanor Raymond.
Source: www.Ghgossip.com