Edith Clarke's first patent for a "graphical calculator". The tool also supported Clarke’s work to gather data about the power grid and "can be seen as the first step toward “smart grid” technology according to the U.S. So she devised the Clarke Calculator, which was a simple graph-based calculator for solving line equations involving hyperbolic functions. Edith's creation would allow electrical engineers to greatly simplify calculations for inductance and capacitance in power transmission lines.
Clarke's Graphical Calculator, a Great Tool for EngineersĪccording to Clarke herself “if accuracy is desired in calculations for long lines, it is absolutely necessary to take into consideration the uniformly distributed inductance and capacity in the line.” Chris is also the curator at the Schenectady Museum of Innovation and Science. "She was one of the engineers who really understood and expanded Charles Steinmetz’s equations of alternating current theory,” says GE historian Chris Hunter. It was to be employed in solving electric power transmission line problems, especially distances as long as 250 miles (402 km). In 1921, with her calculator complete, she filed for a patent and was granted one in 1925. Her experience to date eventually led to one her career highlights, her first invention the Clarke Calculator. Here she supervised other "computers" in the Turbine Engineering Department.Īt this time America was rapidly electrifying. In June of 1919, Edith took on a job as a "human computer" for General Electric in Schenectady, New York. Kennelly entitled "Behavior of a lumpy artificial transmission line as the frequency is indefinitely increased."ĭespite her successes time at MIT, Clarke couldn't find work as an engineer. Part of her masters was the production of her thesis s upervised by A. Degree in 1919, making her the first female to ever earn one at the department. Her ambition would see her return to full-time education.Įdith Clarke stayed with AT & T until 1918 when she left to enroll in the electrical engineering program at MIT. Despite the challenge of the project she was still drawn to engineering. This line was to run from between New York and California. While working for GE, Clark became part of the company's effort to build the first transcontinental telephone line. Clarke became enthralled with the work and attended night school, studying electrical engineering at Columbia University. Illustration of the State University of Madison, 1885 Source: Billertl/Wikimedia CommonsĬampbell, at that time, was applying mathematical methods to solve problems associated with the long-distance transmission of electricity. Edith would be so gripped by the work that she decided to stay on at AT & T to train and manage a group of human "computers" - mathematicians (most commonly women) who quickly calculated figures as part of larger computing systems. In the autumn of 1911, Edith Clarke enrolled as a civil engineering student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.ĭuring the summer break after her first year, in 1912, she worked as a "Computer Assistant" to AT & T research engineer Dr. She then moved positions to teach at Marshall College in Huntington, West Virginia. Post graduation, Edith taught mathematics and physics at a private girls' school in San Francisco.
Her education was funded using her inheritance. She dutifully studied mathematics and astronomy at Vassar College and graduated with Phi Beta Kappa honors in 1908. Source: Famartin/Wikimedia Commons Edith Clarke’s ascension: AT&T and MIT’s EE Program View west along Main Street near Mulligans Hill Lane in downtown Ellicott City, Howard County, Maryland. Once she came of age at 18, she inherited a small amount of money from her parents' estate. He served as her legal guardian for a short time before sending her to boarding school in Maryland. Her mother aslo died away five years later.Įdith and her siblings, now orphaned at the age of 12, were brought up for a time by her uncle. Her father died when she was only 7 years old. She did, however, show an exceptional aptitude for mathematics and card games, especially duplicate whist.Įdith and her sibling's childhoods would be one filled with tragedy. She was one of nine children to her father John Ridgely Clarke and mother, Susan Dorsey Owings.Īs a young girl, Edith suffered from what would now be diagnosed a 'learning disability' with regards to reading and spelling. Edith Clarke was born in on February 10th, 1883 in the small farming community of Ellicott City, Howard County in Maryland.
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