Sheila Widnall

Sheila Widnall is Institute Professor Emerita and Professor Emerita of Aeronautics and Astronautics in the School of Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Born in Tacoma, Washington, she entered MIT as a first-year student in 1956 and earned her B.S. (1960), M.S. (1961), and Sc.D. (1964), all in Aeronautics and Astronautics. Widnall joined the MIT faculty in 1964 as an Assistant Professor, becoming the first woman appointed to the School of Engineering faculty. She advanced to Associate Professor (1970), Professor (1974), Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics (1986), and Institute Professor (1998). She served as Associate Provost (1992-1993 and post-1997), the first woman Chair of the Faculty (1979-1981), and chaired key committees including Admissions, Discipline, Educational Policy, and Departmental Reorganizations. From 1993 to 1997, President Bill Clinton appointed her Secretary of the Air Force, the first woman in that position, where she oversaw personnel, operations, policy formulation, R&D, and co-chaired the Department of Defense Task Force on Sexual Harassment and Discrimination. She also directed University Research for the U.S. Department of Transportation (1974-1975) and headed MIT's Fluid Mechanics Division (1975-1979) and Fluid Dynamics Research Laboratory (1979-1990).

Widnall's research focuses on fluid dynamics, including boundary layer stability, vortex ring and filament instabilities (known as Widnall instability), aircraft wake vortices, tip-vortex aerodynamics, unsteady aerodynamics, helicopter noise, high-speed ground transportation aerodynamics, turbulence, and transition. Notable publications include 'The instability of short waves on a vortex ring' (1974), 'On the stability of vortex rings' (1973), 'The stability of a helical vortex filament' (1972), and 'Sexual harassment of women: climate, culture, and consequences in academic sciences, engineering, and medicine' (2018). Her work influenced aircraft design, wake turbulence safety for jets like the Boeing 747, and rocket engineering. Awards include the AIAA Lawrence Sperry Achievement Award (1972), NAE Distinguished Service Award (1993), ASME Applied Mechanics Award (1996), Defense Distinguished Service Medal (1997), and NASA Public Service Medal (2005). Widnall was the first woman President of AIAA (1999-2000) and AAAS (1988-1989), NAE Vice President, and served on the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (2003) and as co-chair of the 2018 NAS report on sexual harassment in STEM.

Professional Email: sheila@mit.edu