Irma M. Wyman (January 31, 1928 - November 17, 2015) was an early computer engineer and the first woman to become vice president of Honeywell, Inc. She was a

systems thinking Systems thinking is a way of making sense of the complexity of the world by looking at it in terms of wholes and relationships rather than by splitting it down into its parts. It has been used as a way of exploring and developing effective actio ...

tutor and was the first female CIO of

Honeywell Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building technologies, performance ma ...

Academic life

In 1945, Wyman received a Regents Scholarship and was accepted into the College of Engineering at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

as one of seven female students. To supplement her scholarship, she worked as a switchboard operator and waitress. At the time, women in engineering programs received little encouragement and support. While her grades qualified her for membership in

Tau Beta Pi The Tau Beta Pi Association (commonly Tau Beta Pi, , or TBP) is the oldest engineering honor society and the second oldest collegiate honor society in the United States. It honors engineering students in American universities who have shown a ...

, the engineering honor society, she received only a "Women's Badge", since the society did not admit women at the time. Wyman graduated with a Bachelor of Science/EM degree in 1949.

Career

Computing Future Thought Leadership

While still a junior in college, Wyman worked on a missile guidance project at the Willow Run Research Center. To calculate trajectory, they used mechanical calculators. She visited th
U.S. Naval Proving Ground
where Grace Hopper was working on similar problems and discovered they were using a prototype of a programmable

Mark II Mark II or Mark 2 often refers to the second version of a product, frequently military hardware. "Mark", meaning "model" or "variant", can be abbreviated "Mk." Mark II or Mark 2 may refer to: Military and weaponry * 16"/50 caliber Mark 2 gun ...

computer developed at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. She became interested in computers and later recalled that "I became an enthusiastic pioneer in this new technology and it led to my life's career." After graduation, she joined a start-up company that was eventually acquired by

Honeywell Information Systems Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building technologies, performance ma ...

. She moved to

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

and began a long management career at Honeywell, eventually serving as chief information officer. She became vice president of

Corporate Information Management (CIM) before retiring in 1990. Wyman then began a second career as archdeacon in the

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

Diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

of the Episcopal Church where she coached

servant leadership Servant leadership is a leadership philosophy in which the goal of the leader is to serve. This is different from traditional leadership where the leader's main focus is the thriving of their company or organization. A servant leader shares powe ...

, retiring again after ten years as Archdeacon of the Diocese of Minnesota. Wyman supported research and planning as a

thought leader A thought leader has been described as an individual or firm recognized as an authority in a specific field and also as business jargon. Meanings Go-to expert From the perspective of a thought leader as the 'go-to expert', being a thought leader ...

futures studies Futures studies, futures research, futurism or futurology is the systematic, interdisciplinary and holistic study of social and technological advancement, and other environmental trends, often for the purpose of exploring how people will li ...

. As an aside to this, she contended to an interviewer in 1979, that :''it's just as important to know when to ignore all the careful planning and seize an opportunity.'' Wyman endowed the Irma M. Wyman Scholarship at the University of Michigan's Center for the Education of Women to support women in engineering, computer science and related fields. Irma's persistent advocacy for women in computer science reflects those of her early career mentor:

Awards and honors

* Michigan Engineering Alumni Society Medal - 2001 * Honorary Doctor of Engineering, University of Michigan - 2007

Quote

''We never get a second chance to make a first impression.'' (1983–1987) :When sponsoring Honeywell's innovative Corporate Information Management

Information Security Information security, sometimes shortened to InfoSec, is the practice of protecting information by mitigating information risks. It is part of information risk management. It typically involves preventing or reducing the probability of unauthorize ...

Awareness Program (ISAP).

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wyman, Irma People from Saint Paul, Minnesota American women computer scientists American computer scientists 1928 births 2015 deaths University of Michigan College of Engineering alumni American women business executives Chief information officers 20th-century American Episcopalians 20th-century American women 21st-century American women