Quiggle, a Pioneer for Women in STEM
Dorothy Quiggle received a master's degree in chemical engineering in 1927 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and came to Pennsylvania State College as a research assistant in 1929. She became an instructor of chemical engineering in 1935, the next year becoming the first female faculty member in science or engineering at Penn State and the first woman Ph.D. in chemical engineering in the U.S. She attained full professorship in 1953 and was instrumental in establishing both the Department of Chemical Engineering and the Petroleum Refining Laboratory. She retired in 1969.
Quiggle authored or co-authored numerous papers on petroleum chemistry and analytic tools. In 1939, she was awarded a patent for a solution to rapidly remove free oxygen from gases. An ardent advocate for the advancement of women in engineering and science, in 1991 she initiated and was honorary chair of the first conference/ reunion of Women in Engineering at Penn State, bringing more than 150 alumnae together. She supervised and advised five generations of undergraduate and graduate engineering students.