Isabel Hardwich facts for kids

Isabel Helen Hardwich (born Cox; 19 September 1919 – 19 February 1987) was a talented British electrical engineer. She was an expert in photometry, which is the science of measuring light. Isabel was also a leader in the Women's Engineering Society, serving as its president. She worked hard to encourage more women to become engineers.

Early Life and Education

Isabel Helen Cox was born in Streatham, London, England, on 19 September 1919. She went to Furzedown Primary School and Streatham Secondary School.

Isabel was very good at science. She was accepted into Newnham College at Cambridge University in 1938. There, she studied physics, which is the study of how the universe works. She finished her studies in 1941.

In 1941, Isabel joined a big engineering company called Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Company Ltd in Manchester. She completed a two-year training program in engineering there. In 1945, she earned her Master of Arts (MA) degree from Cambridge. She also became a fellow of the Institute of Physics, a group for physicists.

In the same year, Isabel married John Norman Hardwich. He was also an engineer at Metropolitan-Vickers. John supported Isabel's career, helping her to continue her important work.

Career as an Engineer

After her training, Isabel Hardwich worked in the research department at Metropolitan-Vickers. She was one of the first people to work on the company's electron microscope team. An electron microscope uses electrons instead of light to see tiny things, much smaller than what a regular microscope can see.

Later, Isabel focused on building a special lab for photometry. This lab would measure light. She also designed an X-ray spectrometer, a tool used to study materials using X-rays.

Isabel became a member of the Illuminating Engineering Society in 1947. This group focuses on lighting and how light is used.

By 1959, Isabel was working on a very important project. She was researching beryllium, a light metal. She was trying to find the best ways to refine, melt, and weld it. Beryllium was used to make special cans that held enriched uranium inside nuclear reactors. Nuclear reactors produce energy.

Isabel also taught part-time at universities, sharing her knowledge with new students. In 1960, she became responsible for hiring and training women in the research department. She strongly believed in helping young women become professional engineers.

She was the only woman engineer at a big conference in Belfast in 1963. Isabel also played a key role in organizing the first six International Conference of Women Engineers and Scientists (ICWES). She helped arrange the second conference in Cambridge in 1967.

Leading the Women's Engineering Society

Isabel Hardwich was very active in the Women's Engineering Society (WES). She joined in 1941 and helped start the Manchester branch of the society in 1942. She worked with her friends, motor engineer Elsie Eleanor Verity and Dorothy Smith.

Isabel served as the chairman of the Manchester branch from 1947 to 1948. She also edited the society's magazine, The Woman Engineer, from 1952 to 1956.

She became the vice president of WES from 1956 to 1960. Then, she served as the president of the society from 1961 to 1962. She was also an honorary secretary for WES from 1966 to 1973. Isabel retired from her work in 1979.

Death and Legacy

Isabel Hardwich passed away on 19 February 1987, at her home in Flixton, England.

Her important papers and work are kept at the Institution of Engineering and Technology.

The Women's Engineering Society created a special award in her honor, called the Isabel Hardwich Medal. This medal has been given out since 1987. It celebrates a WES member who has done amazing and long-lasting work for the society.

Past winners of the Isabel Hardwich Medal include:

See Also

• In Spanish: Isabel Hardwich para niños