The Department of Mechanical, Materials, and Aerospace Engineering presents a photo unveiling of a new inductee to the MMAE Hall of Fame, Lois Graham (M.S. ME ’49, Ph.D. ME ’59) on November 18 from 2:00 p.m. in the Rettaliata, Second Floor Atrium. The event is preceded by the Nagib and Kalpakjian Annual Lecture on Turbulence and will be followed by a reception.

Lois Graham was a pioneer and role model. In 1959 she graduated from Illinois Institute of Technology, becoming the first woman in the United States to earn a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering. Before that, in 1945, she became the first woman to earn a degree in engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. During her 39-year career on the faculty at Illinois Tech, she encouraged countless students and started the Women in Science and Engineering and the Minorities in Engineering Programs at Illinois Tech. Graham was the first woman to become a fellow of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers. She was elected to the Rensselaer Alumni Hall of Fame in 2003 and was named as a “Person of the Millennium” by Illinois Tech in 2009.