Kitty O'Brien Joyner (July 11, 1916 – August 16, 1993) was an American
electrical engineer
Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...
with the
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was a United States federal agency founded on March 3, 1915, to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. On October 1, 1958, the agency was dissolved and its assets ...
(NACA), and then with the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding th ...
(NASA) upon its replacement of NACA in 1958. She was the first woman to graduate from the
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...
's engineering program in 1939, receiving the
Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award
The Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award is an award presented to graduating seniors, alumni, and faculty of selected colleges and universities in the Southern United States for excellence of character and service to humanity.
The awards stem from the ...
upon graduation. When she was hired by NACA the same year, she became the first woman engineer at the organization, eventually rising to the title Branch Head and managing several of its
wind tunnel
Wind tunnels are large tubes with air blowing through them which are used to replicate the interaction between air and an object flying through the air or moving along the ground. Researchers use wind tunnels to learn more about how an aircraft ...
s. Her work contributed to research on
aeronautics
Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of air flight–capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. The British Royal Aeronautical Society identifies ...
,
supersonic flight,
airfoil
An airfoil (American English) or aerofoil (British English) is the cross-sectional shape of an object whose motion through a gas is capable of generating significant lift, such as a wing, a sail, or the blades of propeller, rotor, or turbine.
...
s, and aircraft design standards.
Early life and education
Kitty Wingfield O'Brien was born in
Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...
, on July 11, 1916.
[ Her father was an ]engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
, inspiring her to pursue the same career.[ After high school, she wanted to attend the ]University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...
(UVA). Virginia state law had allowed women to attend public universities since 1920, but UVA implemented several hurdles for women who wished to apply, requiring that they attend school somewhere else for two years first and be at least 20 years old.[ These requirements were still in place in 1935, when O'Brien would have applied, so she attended Sweet Briar College for two years between 1935 and 1937, then successfully petitioned UVA to gain admission.][
Not initially seeing an opportunity for women in the field, she told a '']Miami News
''The Miami News'' was an evening newspaper in Miami, Florida. It was the media market competitor to the morning edition of the '' Miami Herald'' for most of the 20th century. The paper started publishing in May 1896 as a weekly called ''The Miami ...
'' reporter that "she had always wished she were a boy so she could follow his profession".[ The reporter wrote about her while she was in Florida attending an engineering conference at which her paper "Fluorescence, the Light of the Future" won second place among student work.][ Although the reporter remarked that "electrical engineering is scarcely considered a feminine profession", O'Brien used the opportunity to talk about how engineering presents a great opportunity for women and girls.][
In her time at UVA she was secretary of the Virginia branch of the American Institute of Electrical Engineering and member of the university's Trigon engineering society. She was also president of her sorority, ]Chi Omega
Chi Omega (, also known as ChiO) is a women's fraternity and a member of the National Panhellenic Conference, the umbrella organization of 26 women's fraternities.
Chi Omega has 181 active collegiate chapters and approximately 240 alumnae chapte ...
, and president of the Woman's Student association.[ In 1939, she became the first woman to graduate from UVA with a ]Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
degree in electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...
.[ She was selected to receive the ]Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award
The Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award is an award presented to graduating seniors, alumni, and faculty of selected colleges and universities in the Southern United States for excellence of character and service to humanity.
The awards stem from the ...
, which the university gives to two graduating students each year "for excellence of character and service to humanity".[
]
Career
The NACA
The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was a United States federal agency founded on March 3, 1915, to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. On October 1, 1958, the agency was dissolved and its assets ...
Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory Langley may refer to:
People
* Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name
* Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer
* Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perform ...
(later the Langley Research Center) hired Joyner as a junior civil engineering aide in September 1939, making her their first woman engineer.[ At the time, the organization was expanding its ]aeronautics
Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of air flight–capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. The British Royal Aeronautical Society identifies ...
research and development in the time before World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.[ Her career developed quickly, as she shifted her focus from civil to electrical engineering.][ Among her responsibilities was the management of the electrical systems for several ]wind tunnel
Wind tunnels are large tubes with air blowing through them which are used to replicate the interaction between air and an object flying through the air or moving along the ground. Researchers use wind tunnels to learn more about how an aircraft ...
s, including supersonic wind tunnels, large, expensive facilities important to testing aircraft.[ She continued working at Langley for more than three decades, continuing at the ]National Aeronautics and Space Administration
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding th ...
(NASA) when it replaced NACA in 1958. By the 1960s, she achieved the title Branch Head of the Facilities Cost Estimating Branch, Office of Engineering and Technical Services.[
Over the course of her career at NACA/NASA, Joyner made contributions to research on ]aeronautics
Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of air flight–capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. The British Royal Aeronautical Society identifies ...
, supersonic flight, and the design of airfoil
An airfoil (American English) or aerofoil (British English) is the cross-sectional shape of an object whose motion through a gas is capable of generating significant lift, such as a wing, a sail, or the blades of propeller, rotor, or turbine.
...
s.[ Her work had implications for military and commercial flight applications, and she was influential in the production of aircraft design standards that continued to be relevant many years later.][ She retired from NASA in May 1971.][
Joyner was active in engineering organizations and societies. She was a member of the ]Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operation ...
(IEEE) and Honorary Life Member of the Engineers Club of the Virginia Peninsula.[
]
Personal life
O'Brien married Upshur T. Joyner, a physicist
A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe.
Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...
who also worked at NACA/NASA, best known for his contributions at the NASA Langley Landing Loads Dynamics Facility.[ Together they had two children: a son named Upshur O'Brien Joyner, who died of ]leukemia
Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...
at the age of 47 in 1990, and a daughter, Kate Bailey.[ In 1971, both Kitty and Upshur retired. They lived in ]Poquoson, Virginia
Poquoson (), informally known as Bull Island, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,460. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Poquoson with surrounding York County ...
.[
In addition to her professional and personal engineering activities, she was a member of the P.E.O. Sisterhood, Daughters of the American Colonists, and ]United Daughters of the Confederacy
The United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) is an American neo-Confederate hereditary association for female descendants of Confederate Civil War soldiers engaging in the commemoration of these ancestors, the funding of monuments to them, ...
, which in 1992 presented her with the Winnie Davis Award, recognizing exceptional dedication or contributions to the organization.[ She also served as first regent and organizer for the Charles Parish Chapter of the ]Daughters of the American Revolution
The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States' efforts towards independence.
A non-profit group, they promote ...
, which named an annual scholarship after her.[
Joyner died on August 16, 1993, at the age of 77. Her husband died a few months later, in November 1993, at the age of 85.][
]
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Joyner, Kitty
1916 births
1993 deaths
American electrical engineers
American women engineers
NASA people
People from Charlottesville, Virginia
Sweet Briar College alumni
Members of the United Daughters of the Confederacy
University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni
Engineers from Virginia
20th-century American engineers
20th-century women engineers
20th-century American women
19th-century American women
People from Poquoson, Virginia