Irmgard Flügge-Lotz, née Irmgard Lotz (16 July 1903 - 22 May 1974) was a German mathematician and engineer, best known for her work on the mathematics of aerodynamics, the first female engineering professor at the Stanford University.
Lotz was born in Hamelin on 16 July 1903. After her father, Osark, a travelling journalist, was drafted for military service in World War I, the young Irmgard helped the family by becoming a math tutor. By high scho...
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Irmgard Flügge-Lotz, née Irmgard Lotz (16 July 1903 - 22 May 1974) was a German mathematician and engineer, best known for her work on the mathematics of aerodynamics, the first female engineering professor at the Stanford University.
Lotz was born in Hamelin on 16 July 1903. After her father, Osark, a travelling journalist, was drafted for military service in World War I, the young Irmgard helped the family by becoming a math tutor. By high school and through college, she practically supported her family single-handedly. In college she was often the only woman in her class. In 1929 she earned a doctorate in engineering, but she had a tough time getting engineering jobs. Lotz went to work for the Aerodynamics Institute in Göttingen. After she solved a peculiarly thorny equation pertaining to wing lift distribution, Lotz was promoted to team leader. In 1938, she married Wilhelm Flügge, a civil engineer, and the pair moved first to Berlin and later to the small town of Saulgau.
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