Yvonne Brill (1924-2013) was a rocket scientist behind some of the century’s biggest aerospace innovations–though she never actually received an engineering degree.
Yvonne Brill (1924-2013) was a rocket scientist behind some of the century’s biggest aerospace innovations–though she never actually received an engineering degree.
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Hi! From Wonder Media Network, I’m Jenny Kaplan. This is Womanica.
This month, we’re talking about Innovators. From inventors to thinkers, these women have explored new possibilities to lead us to where we are now.
Today’s Womanican was quite literally a rocket scientist. She was behind some of the century’s biggest aerospace innovations – though she never actually received an engineering degree.
Let’s talk about Yvonne Brill.
Yvonne was born in 1924, in Winnipeg, to Belgian immigrants. Young Yvonne was fascinated with Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly solo over the Atlantic Ocean. Amelia disappeared when Yvonne was 12. And Yvonne decided she would one day work on – and improve – airplanes.
When she was 18, Yvonne tried to enroll in the University of Manitoba’s engineering program. But there was a catch: all students were required to attend a summer camp. But the camp had no accommodations for women. Yvonne was denied a spot. And it was a snub that would fuel her professional career.
Instead, Yvonne received a degree in mathematics and chemistry from the University, graduating early and at the top of her class in 1945.
At age 20, Yvonne moved to Los Angeles. Her first job was with Douglas Aircraft – a company whose claim to fame was building the first plane to circumnavigate the globe.
While she was working at Douglas, Yvonne started out working on aircraft, but the work was largely theoretical – calculating satellite launch paths. Yvonne didn’t find it all that fulfilling. So, as the industry shifted toward rockets, she did, too. Some say, she was the only woman who worked on American rockets in the 1940s.
She then went on to pursue a master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Southern California, and got a new job at the Marquardt Corporation.
At Marquardt, she perfected a pioneering rocket fuel system. It led to the first successful test of an American-built ramjet, a device that helps propel missiles.
In 1951, Yvonne married William Brill, a research chemist. The next year, in 1952, the couple moved to the East Coast for William’s career. Yvonne, meanwhile, began a new job at the RAND Corporation, which combined research with military policy.
During her time at RAND, Yvonne worked on studies of rocket propellant fuel combinations. Her findings led to the first industry standards in the U.S.
In 1958, Yvonne left the public workforce to care for her growing family. For nearly a decade, she raised three kids – all of whom pursued careers in science and engineering.
Still, Yvonne couldn’t stay away from her first love forever. In 1966, she got a job at RCA Astro, where she worked on rockets that helped take NASA’s Apollo missions to the moon.
It was at RCA that Yvonne also finished a project she’d spent years working independently on – and would become arguably her most important gift to rocket science. Yvonne created the electrothermal hydrazine resistojet. It was a new kind of engine that helps satellites stay in orbit. It has remained the top industry standard for nearly 40 years.
Yvonne’s final post was at NASA, where she ran the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Program.
Yvonne was an innovator not just in rocket science – but in the ways she balanced her personal and professional lives. She left the industry for a decade to parent – and returned even more driven. Her greatest professional successes came after she’d turned 40 years old. She also dedicated a lot of her time to advancing the careers of other women in science. She knew what it was like to have to go it alone.
Yvonne died in 2013. And according to those who knew her, she was writing letters of recommendation even in her final few days.
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Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator.
Talk to you tomorrow!