---
title: Mária Telkes | Women's History Month Energy Spotlight
description: In honor of Women's History Month, we’re highlighting Mária Telkes, a inventor and physicist who is recognized as one of the foremost pioneers of solar energy.
image: https://info.fluenceenergy.com/hubfs/Telkes%20WHM.png
---
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#### Women's History Month
# Energy Spotlight: Mária Telkes
*In honor of Women’s History Month, we’re sharing a series of posts highlighting the significant contributions of women in shaping the energy industry and changing the face of STEM.*
## Dr. Mária Telkes, Inventor, Physicist and Solar Energy Pioneer
Born in Hungary in 1900, Dr. Mária Telkes was an innovator, especially in the field of solar energy. With a bachelor’s and doctorate in physical chemistry, Dr. Telkes emigrated to the United States after being offered a position at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation to research energy-producing organisms.
Prior to WWII, Dr. Telkes worked at Westinghouse Electric where she created devices that could convert heat into electrical energy. She also worked at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on their [Solar Energy Conversion Project](https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/maria-telkes) and became an assistant professor in metallurgy.
To assist military efforts during WWII, she worked at the U.S. Office of Scientific Research and Development; here, she developed a solar-powered evaporator that could convert salt water to clean drinking water for service members stranded at sea.
After the war, she returned to MIT to design the [Dover Sun House](http://architectuul.com/architecture/dover-sun-house), the U.S.’ first home to be powered entirely by solar energy. The house captured and stored solar energy through a novel chemical process.
She moved on to work at New York University (NYU) as a solar energy researcher, where she received a grant to work on a clean oven. The solar oven could be used globally and was safe enough to be used by children. In parallel, she also developed a faster way for farmers to dry their crops. She was also a professor and researcher at the University of Delaware’s Institute for Energy Conversion, where she worked on another solar-powered house.
At retirement, she kept a position as a consultant for the University of Delaware as well as several solar energy companies. Over her lifetime, she accumulated over 20 patents.
### Accomplishments
Mária’s work garnered numerous awards and has led to the development of several inventions and advancements:
- She won the first-ever [Society of Women Engineers Achievement Award](https://alltogether.swe.org/2021/03/swe-womens-history-month/) as well as the American Solar Energy Society’s Charles Greely Abbot Award and a lifetime achievement award from the National Academy of Sciences Building Research Advisory Board
- She designed the U.S.’ first home to be powered entirely by solar+storage
- She has over 20 patents in her name
## The Energy Spotlight Series in Honor of Women's History Month
- Post 1: [Neha Misra](https://info.fluenceenergy.com/neha-misra-womens-history-month-energy-spotlight?hsLang=en)
- Post 2: Mária Telkes
- Post 3: [Yewande Akinola](https://info.fluenceenergy.com/yewande-akinola-womens-history-month-energy-spotlight?hsLang=en)
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