Naomi McAfee Oral History
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Dublin Core
Title
Naomi McAfee Oral History
Description
Naomi McAfee was a pioneer in the field of reliability and quality engineering.
She received her B.S. degree in physics from Western Kentucky University in 1956. After graduation she joined Westinghouse Defense and Electronic Systems Center in Baltimore, MD. as a mathematician in the Reliability Engineering Section. McAfee went on to work on a variety of airborne missile control and radar systems as well as communication satellites. In subsequent supervisory engineering roles, she was responsible for the reliability, maintainability and safety engineering activities for all Defense and Space Center Programs. She was the first woman to hold such a supervisory engineer position at the company and headed the group responsible for developing the television camera system used on Skylab and other U.S. space programs.
McAfee was also a leader in many professional organizations. She held several offices in SWE including the national presidency during 1972-74. She became the first woman elected officer of the American Society for Quality Control, was the 1978-79 president of the Federation of Organizations for Professional Women, served on the 1975-79 board of the Engineers Joint Council, and was involved in the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. She has been on the advisory council of engineering schools at Princeton University, Clarkson College of Technology, and Pennsylvania State University.
She received her B.S. degree in physics from Western Kentucky University in 1956. After graduation she joined Westinghouse Defense and Electronic Systems Center in Baltimore, MD. as a mathematician in the Reliability Engineering Section. McAfee went on to work on a variety of airborne missile control and radar systems as well as communication satellites. In subsequent supervisory engineering roles, she was responsible for the reliability, maintainability and safety engineering activities for all Defense and Space Center Programs. She was the first woman to hold such a supervisory engineer position at the company and headed the group responsible for developing the television camera system used on Skylab and other U.S. space programs.
McAfee was also a leader in many professional organizations. She held several offices in SWE including the national presidency during 1972-74. She became the first woman elected officer of the American Society for Quality Control, was the 1978-79 president of the Federation of Organizations for Professional Women, served on the 1975-79 board of the Engineers Joint Council, and was involved in the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. She has been on the advisory council of engineering schools at Princeton University, Clarkson College of Technology, and Pennsylvania State University.
Oral History Item
Interviewer
Lauren Kata
Interviewee
McAfee, Naomi
Date Recorded
2003-05-30
Coverage
1930’s-present
Citation
“Naomi McAfee Oral History,” Michigan Oral History Database, accessed October 23, 2024, http://www.database.michiganoha.org/items/show/308.