Margot Taulé (August 30, 1920 - 11 July 2008) was an architect-engineer and the first woman to become a registered professional engineer and architect in the Dominican Republic.

Life and education

Rose Marguerite Taulé Casso was born on 30 August 1920 in

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

. She was one of two daughters of French immigrants. She studied in the Department of

Civil Engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...

and Architecture in the former Universidad de Santo Domingo (now the

Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo The Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD) (Autonomous University of Santo Domingo) is the public university system in the Dominican Republic with its flagship campus in the Ciudad Universitaria (lit. University City) neighborhood of San ...

) from 1940 to 1944, and was awarded her

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in Engineering and Architecture in 1948.

Works

She was responsible for the structural design of the building that houses the Dominican National Congress. This structure was commissioned by the dictator

Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina ( , ; 24 October 189130 May 1961), nicknamed ''El Jefe'' (, "The Chief" or "The Boss"), was a Dominican dictator who ruled the Dominican Republic from February 1930 until his assassination in May 1961. He ser ...

in the 1960s and is still in use today. She also worked as a structural engineer alongside other great Dominican architects such as Henry Gazón, Guillermo Gonzales, Leo Pou and José A. Caro.

Academia

Margot Taulé also made very significant and lasting contributions to the academic development of the engineering and architecture profession in Dominican Republic. In 1956 she earned by opposition the title of Full Professor in the University of Santo Domingo. She held the position until 1964 when the university changed its name to

. In 1966 a group of professors and distinguished intellectuals frustrated with the situation in the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo founded the Universidad Nacional Pedro Henriquez Urena (UNPHU). Margot Taule was one of the founding professors and a member of the main steering committee. In UNPHU she worked as professor in the civil engineering, architecture and mathematics department. At various times she also held the position Dean of Architecture, Dean of Engineering and in 2003 was elected by the board of trustees as President of the university, a position she held until 2005. In 1985 she received the title of Distinguished Professor by UNPHU citing her contributions to education in engineering and architecture. Margot Taulé died July 11, 2008 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taule, Margot 1920 births 2008 deaths Structural engineers Dominican Republic architects Dominican Republic women architects Dominican Republic women engineers Women engineers