Innovators: Mária Telkes

Episode Summary

Maria Telkes was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1900. She studied physical chemistry and earned advanced degrees in Hungary before moving to the United States in 1925. Telkes worked as a biophysicist researching energy produced by living organisms. In the late 1930s, she began studying solar energy conversion. During World War II, Telkes invented a portable device that used the sun's heat to convert saltwater into drinking water. This device saved many lives during the war. After the war, Telkes collaborated on the Dover Sun House, designing a system to absorb and store solar energy for heating. Telkes dedicated the rest of her career to solar energy innovations like solar ovens, dryers, and air conditioning. She was honored by the National Academy of Science for her pioneering solar technology contributions. Telkes' innovations in harnessing the power of the sun earned her the nickname "Sun Queen." She died in 1995 at the age of 94 during a visit to her hometown of Budapest.

Episode Show Notes

Mária Telkes (1900-1995) was known as the “Sun Queen” because she dedicated her career to harnessing the power of the sun through technology, proving over and over again how humans can use it for energy.

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_04: Reboot your credit card with Apple Card. It gives you unlimited daily cash back that can earn 4.15% annual percentage yield when you open a savings account. A high yield, low effort way to grow your money with no fees. Apply for Apple Card now in the Wallet app on iPhone to start earning and growing your daily cash with savings today. Apple Card subject to credit approval. Savings is available to Apple Card owners subject to eligibility. Savings accounts by Goldman Sachs Bank USA. Member FDIC, terms apply. SPEAKER_01: Sick of paying $100 for groceries and getting nothing but eggs, orange juice, and a paper bag? Then download the Drop app. Drop lets you earn points with your everyday shopping and redeem them for gift cards. Want a free dinner with those groceries? Drop it. How about daily lattes? Drop it. So download Drop today and get $5 just for signing up. Use invite code GETDROP777. SPEAKER_02: At Toyota electrified doesn't just mean plugified. So you can go off road in a hybrid Tundra and take the scenic, Rutified. Or step inside a plug-in Prius and get glamified. Or hop in an all electric BZ4X and take it Easyified. Toyota is electrified, diversified. And the more ways we can choose to reduce carbon emissions, the closer we all get to Toyota's beyond zero vision. Toyota, let's go places. SPEAKER_07: This month of Womanica is brought to you by LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a hub for conversation about what it means to be professional today and what the future of work might look like. LinkedIn members are discussing the changing landscape of when, how, and where we work and what it looks like when we need to take time away to focus on family or mental health. These days, more of us are feeling comfortable showing up to work as our full selves and encouraging others to do the same. Our needs should not stunt career development and growth. Instead, the workplace will improve as employees show up authentically on their own terms. Post your truth, show the world the authentic professional you, and join the conversations redefining professional on LinkedIn. LinkedIn, welcome professionals. Hey listeners, it's Jenny with another podcast I think you'll love, TED Talks Daily. Every weekday, you'll hear new ideas on every topic imaginable, from artificial intelligence to how the war in Ukraine can change everything. One episode in particular that I thought you'd really like is the recent talk from creator, comedian, and actress, Lilly Singh. Lilly gets into how women and girls are conditioned to believe success is a seat at the table when really we should build a better table. She's hilarious and not only shares intimate experiences from her career, but also offers ways we can build a more inclusive society where girls are encouraged and empowered to do great things. Stick around to hear part of her talk or head over to TED Talks Daily from the TED audio collective, wherever you listen. SPEAKER_08: Hello, from Wonder Media Network, I'm Shira Atkins, proud to be standing in for my co-founder, Jenny Kaplan today. This month, we're talking about innovators. These are women from inventors to big thinkers whose decisions to explore new paths led us to where we are today. Today, we're talking about a woman who would become known as the Sun Queen. She dedicated her career to harnessing the power of the sun through technology, proving over and over again how humans can use it for energy. Please welcome Maria Telkisch. Maria was born in Budapest, Hungary on December 12th, 1900. Her parents were Oladar and Maria Telkisch. Maria developed an interest in science early on. She studied physical chemistry at the University of Budapest, earning a bachelor's degree in 1920 and a doctorate in 1924. She began her career as an instructor at the university, but within a year, left home to visit a relative in Ohio. While in the United States, Maria was offered a job as a biophysicist at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. They wanted her to investigate the energy produced by living organisms. She worked there until 1937, the same year she became a U.S. citizen. For the following two years, she researched patents on new devices that could convert heat energy into electrical energy. All of Maria's work led to the opportunity to study something she'd been curious about since high school, solar energy. In 1939, she joined MIT's Solar Energy Conversion Project. But World War II was already on the horizon. The United States government recruited Maria as a civilian advisor to the Office of Scientific Research and Development, the OSRD. She was tasked with inventing a portable method of converting saltwater into clean drinking water. Previously, saltwater had to be heated until it turned to steam. The salt was left behind, and the steam condensed back into pure water. Maria designed a device which used the heat of the sun to vaporize the saltwater. This small device could be used on life rafts to provide drinking water to people waiting for rescue at sea. Maria's device saved the lives of many torpedoed sailors and drowned airmen during World War II. For this work, she received the OSRD certificate of merit in 1945. In the late 40s, it wasn't yet clear that oil would come to dominate the environment and the economy. With anxiety about where to find the energy for economic growth, various architects, designers, and engineers focused on how solar energy could fill this need. The architect, Eleanor Raymond and Maria Telkesch, embarked on the Dover Sun House, a project funded by the philanthropist and sculptor, Amelia Peabody. Maria designed a unique chemical system for the house. It was meant to absorb and store daytime solar radiation for nighttime heating. Previously, heating systems stored solar energy in the form of hot water or heated rocks, but Maria's system converted the solar heat into chemical energy. Maria's system successfully kept the oddly-shaped house warm throughout the winter. After that, Maria dedicated the rest of her career to solar energy, designing solar ovens, dryers, and air conditioning systems. The National Academy of Science Building Research Advisory Board honored her pioneering contributions to solar heat technology in 1977. This award recognized Maria's innovations, putting her on a playing field with the likes of Frank Lloyd Wright and Buckminster Fuller, who had also received the award. Maria died on December 2nd, 1995. It was her first visit to her hometown of Budapest in 70 years. She was 94 years old. All month, we're highlighting innovators. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, at Womanika. Thanks for allowing me to step in as guest host of Womanika, and special congratulations to Liz Kaplan, our co-creator, who's getting married this weekend. Talk to you tomorrow. SPEAKER_06: You see, my goal was always a seat at the table. It's what women are conditioned to believe success is. And when the chair doesn't fit, when it doesn't reach the table, when it's wobbly, when it's full of splinters, we don't have the luxury of fixing it or finding another one. But we try anyways. We take on that responsibility, and we shoulder that burden. Now, I've been fortunate enough to sit at a few seats at a few different tables, and what I've learned is, when you get the seat, trying to fix the seat won't fix the problem. Why? Because the table was never built for us in the first place. The solution? Build better tables. So, allow me to be your very own IKEA manual. Allow me to be your very own IKEA manual. I would like to present to you a set of guidelines I very eloquently call, how to build a table that doesn't suck. I've been told I'm very literal. Now, right off the bat, let me tell you, this assembly is gonna take more than one person or group of people. It's gonna take everyone. Are you ready? Should we dive in? Let's do it. Up first, don't weaponize gratitude. Don't get me wrong, gratitude is a great word. It's nice, it's fluffy, a solid 11 points in Scrabble. However, let's be clear. Although gratitude feels warm and fuzzy, it's not a form of currency. Women are assigned 10% more work, and spend more time on unrewarded, unrecognized, and non-promotable tasks. Basically what this means is, all the things men don't wanna do are being handed to women. And a lot of those things largely include things that advance inclusivity, equity and diversity in the workplace. So hear me when I say, a woman shouldn't be grateful to sit at a table. She should be paid to sit at a table. Especially ones she largely helped build. And a woman's seat shouldn't be threatened if she doesn't seem grateful enough. In other words, corporations, this step involves a woman doing a job, and being paid in money, opportunity, and promotion, not just gratitude. And women, now go ahead, live it up, do your, do your, live your life. And women, a moment of real talk. Trust me, I've been there and I know it is so tough, but we have to understand and remember that being grateful and being treated fairly are not mutually exclusive. I can be grateful but still know exactly what I deserve, and that's the way to do it. SPEAKER_05: You're at a place you just discovered, and being an American Express Platinum card member with global dining access by Resy, helped you score tickets to quite the dining experience. Okay, chef. You're looking at something you've never seen before, much less tasted. After your first bite, you say, nothing, because you're speechless. See how to elevate your dining experiences at americanexpress.com slash with Amex. Don't live life without it. Terms apply. SPEAKER_03: Wanna get seven streaming services for one low price? Sign up for a smart bundle that'll stimulate your brain. Featuring CuriosityStream, with the best documentary films and TV shows. Taste Made, for the fun side of food and travel. Topic, with the best thrillers and crime stories. DaVinci, teacher approved ad-free shows and games, and more. From nature to history, technology to food, mystery to adventure. Get seven streaming services for one low price. At less than $6 a month, it's the best deal in streaming. Sign up at smartbundle.com. SPEAKER_00: This year, Hyundai features their all electric Hyundai IONIQ lineup as a proud sponsor of the I Heart Radio Music Festival in Las Vegas, with two high tech models. The IONIQ 5 can take you an EPA estimated 303 miles on a single charge, and has available two way charging for electronic equipment inside and outside the car. The IONIQ 6 boasts a mind blowing range of up to 360 miles, and can deliver up to an 80% charge in just 18 minutes with its 800 volt DC ultra fast charger. Check out Hyundai at the I Heart Radio Music Festival in Las Vegas, as their all star IONIQ lineup hits the stage like you've never seen before. Hyundai, it's your journey.