Josephine “Jo” Webb Oral History
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Dublin Core
Title
Josephine “Jo” Webb Oral History
Description
Josephine Webb graduated from Purdue University in 1940 and became a Buhl Research Fellow in the Electrical Engineering Department of the Carnegie Institute of Technology for two years. In 1942 she joined Westinghouse Electric Corporation as a Design Engineer, where among other duties, she worked on the electrical grids for the Coulee, Hoover, and Boulder Dams. It was during her tenure with the company that she obtained two patents for oil circuit breaker contact design.
In 1946, Webb became Director of Development for the Facsimile Development Laboratory at the Alden Products Company where she designed an eighteen-inch, full newspaper size fax machine with exceptional resolution for that time. Following a brief tenure at the Foxboro Instrument Company, Webb went into business for herself, co-founding Webb Consulting Company with her husband, also an electrical engineer. They specialized in electrical-electronic measurement instrumentation, communications applications, and photographic test devices, working for clients as diverse as Boeing and the U.S. Bureau of Mines.
In addition to the consulting business, Webb also took a position in 1977 with North Idaho College where she began development of a Computer Center and worked on several government grants for enhancing the campus and its educational programs.
Webb holds four patents for her innovative work and has been active in many professional organizations including IEEE, NSPE, and SWE where she holds Fellows status.
In 1946, Webb became Director of Development for the Facsimile Development Laboratory at the Alden Products Company where she designed an eighteen-inch, full newspaper size fax machine with exceptional resolution for that time. Following a brief tenure at the Foxboro Instrument Company, Webb went into business for herself, co-founding Webb Consulting Company with her husband, also an electrical engineer. They specialized in electrical-electronic measurement instrumentation, communications applications, and photographic test devices, working for clients as diverse as Boeing and the U.S. Bureau of Mines.
In addition to the consulting business, Webb also took a position in 1977 with North Idaho College where she began development of a Computer Center and worked on several government grants for enhancing the campus and its educational programs.
Webb holds four patents for her innovative work and has been active in many professional organizations including IEEE, NSPE, and SWE where she holds Fellows status.
Oral History Item
Interviewer
Lauren Kata
Interviewee
Webb, Josephine Jo
Date Recorded
2002-03-02
Coverage
1930’s-present
Citation
“Josephine “Jo” Webb Oral History,” Michigan Oral History Database, accessed March 31, 2025, http://www.database.michiganoha.org/items/show/317.