Virginia Sink (September 14, 1913 – November 20, 1986) was an American chemical engineer and the first woman automotive engineer at Chrysler.

Early life and education

Mary Virginia Sink was born in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, September 14, 1913 to Iva and George Sink, who worked in printing. She attended North High School in Denver and was part of the Girls' Athletics Society. She graduated as a chemical engineer from the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University o ...

in 1936. She had originally intended becoming a teacher but lacked the finance necessary to complete the training. She later explained the need to tell the engineering department that although she wanted to study chemical engineering she didn't plan on being an engineer. She was admitted to the course and finished in the top three of her class. She went to work for Chrysler where she took a masters in engineering in the Chrysler Institute of Engineering. When she graduated in 1938 she was the first woman to do so. Sink then taught at the institute as well as working as an engineer for Chrysler until 1946.

Career

In 1943 Sink was named Supervisor of Laboratory Personnel and was responsible for hiring 500 women during the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

. By 1950 she was appointed Group Leader in the Chemical Research Department. Sink gained her chartered member status in the Society of Women Engineers, in the Detroit Section in 1952. Sink worked on the LA smog project from 1957 until 1962 when she co-developed Chrysler's ''Cleaner Air Package''. Sink retired as the Manager of Emission Certification in the Materials Engineering department in 1979. Sink was a member of the

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all ...

, the

Society of Automotive Engineers SAE International, formerly named the Society of Automotive Engineers, is a United States-based, globally active professional association and standards developing organization for engineering professionals in various industries. SAE Internatio ...

, and the

National Association of Corrosion Engineers The Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP), is a professional association focused on the protection of assets and performance of materials. AMPP was created when NACE International and SSPC the Society for Protective Coatin ...

. She was also president of the Soroptomist Federation of America.

Recognition

She was given a number of honours including being the first woman given honorary membership of Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honorary society. In 1950 she was Detroit's Woman of Achievement. Sink was the focus of Charm Magazine in 1956 when they called her a "Symbol of Detroit's Working Women". In 1980, the University of Colorado awarded her the George Norlin Award from in recognition of outstanding achievements. Virginia Sink died in on 20 November 1986 in

Pontiac Pontiac may refer to: *Pontiac (automobile), a car brand *Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief Places and jurisdictions Canada *Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality ** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sink, Virginia 1913 births 1986 deaths People from Denver American chemical engineers People from Michigan Automotive businesspeople Women chemical engineers Women automotive engineers