Maria Telkes is widely considered the founder of solar thermal stilling and storage systems. Nicknamed “the Sun Queen” she holds over 20 patents and won 12 international awards.

Much of her brilliant work has greatly influenced modern solar systems today.

Early work

Born in Budapest, Hungary in 1900 she attended the University of Budapest where she received her Bachelor’s in 1920 and her Ph.D. in physical chemistry in 1924.

Shortly after, she emigrated to Cleveland, Ohio with her uncle who was the Hungarian consul there.

In 1925 she accepted a position as a biophysicist at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation working under Dr. George Washington Crile. Here they worked on developing a photoelectric device that recorded human brain waves.

Working there until 1937, she became an American citizen and later that year she joined Westinghouse Electric as a research engineer in the energy conservation department. Here she began to develop ways to convert heat energy into electricity.

Then, in 1939 she began a partnership with MIT’s Solar Energy Conversion project researching thermoelectric devices powered by the sun.

WWII projects

Once WWII began Telkes was assigned to the US Department of Scientific Research and Development.

Here she developed a portable solar still that could be used on liferafts to convert seawater into drinking water. Floating on the sea, it evaporated saltwater and condensed the freshwater, producing up to a quart a day.

This invention helped to save the lives of sailors and airmen abandoned at sea. In addition, the government scaled up her distiller to provide fresh water for the US Virgin Islands.

After the war ended in 1945 she became an associate research professor in Metallurgy and continued her work at MIT. Partnering with architect Eleanor Raymond and financed by sculptor Amelia Peabody in 1948 they produced the world’s first modern house heated by solar energy.

The Dover House

Entirely sustained on solar energy, the house utilized stored heat energy from Glauber’s salt, or sodium sulfate decahydrate. Glauber’s salt liquefies in sunlight and releases heat in the process of rehardening in cooler temperature.

The ingenious use drew quite a bit of attention. Unfortunately, after three years the system began to fail and the house had a conventional heater installed.

However, much was learned from the project and in 1952 she was the first recipient of the Society of Women Engineers Achievement Award.

Moving to the New York University College of Engineering in 1953 Telkes received a $45,000 grant from the Ford Foundation to continue her research and develop a solar oven.

The Telkes Solar Oven

Dr. Maria Telkes’s solar oven was designed to be simple and easy to use for anyone around the world without access to an oven.

The oven worked well, and could easily reach temperatures of 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Also during this time, she developed a faster way for farmers to dry and dehydrate their crops.

Additionally, Telkes consulted and worked with several other companies including Curtiss-Wright, Cro-Therm, and Melpar Inc.

Returning to academia in 1969, she led the research at the University of Delaware’s Institute of Energy Conversion.

Additional works

In 1977 she was honored with a Lifetime Achievement award from the National Academy of Sciences. She also received the Charles Greeley Abbot Award from the American Solar Energy Society.

In 1980 Telkes helped the US Department of Energy to build the Carlisle house, the world’s first solar-electric powered home.

She continued her work at the University of Delaware and as an energy consultant to companies around the world.

Maria Telkes died on December 2nd, 1995 in her hometown of Budapest.

And finally, in 2012 she was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.