Irmgard Flugge-Lotz

Irmgard Flugge-Lotz — aerodynamics and automatic control theory expert

Irmgard Flügge-Lotz (1903-1974) was internationally renowned for her many important contributions to aerodynamics and to automatic control theory.

Flügge-Lotz joined the Stanford faculty in 1950 as the university’s first female professor of engineering. A professor of applied mechanics and of aeronautics and astronautics, emeritus, she was the first woman elected as a fellow by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and received the Achievement Award from the Society of Women Engineers.

She made significant advancements in methods for the prediction of aerodynamic pressures on bodies, wings and turbine blades, some of which were adopted as standard procedures throughout the world. In automatic control theory, she developed the first theory of discontinuous, or on-off, control systems. Flügge-Lotz published more than 50 technical papers and wrote two books.