Historical female influencers in automatic control

Abstract

Over the last century, many women have contributed to the field of control engineering. Nevertheless, women are generally in the minority. This article highlights the contribution of women since the inception of control engineering to highlight good exemples to coming generations. A repository of portraits of women in control engineering is currently being curated and made available through the university of Lund website. The main purpose is to provide role models for future generations of control engineers. This article describes the need for role models as a means to change the situation and attract more women to control engineering in the future. Two portraits in the repository - those of Irmgard Flügge-Lotz and Nina Thornhill - are presented here. Ideas on how to use this resource are provided.