The animated doodle features a picture of Telkes and a background of her solar experiment
(Picture: Google)The Google doodle today is honouring biophysicist Maria Telkes on what would have been her 122nd birthday.
The animated doodle features a picture of Telkes and a background of her solar experiment. It demonstrated how solar energy is absorbed and used to run various appliances in people's homes.
The homes are still lit as dusk falls thanks to the solar energy collected by the technology, as seen in the doodle.
But who was the ‘’Sun Queen’’, and what did she help to invent?
Who was Maria Telkes?
Telkes was a Hungarian-American biophysicist, scientist and inventor who worked on solar energy technologies.
Born in Budapest on December 12, 1900, she was best known for creating the solar distiller and the first residential solar heating system.
Also known as the ‘Sun Queen’, she also created devices that were capable of capturing and storing solar energy.
She studied physical chemistry in her hometown and graduated with a BA in this in 1920, before completing her PhD in 1924.
Telkes then continued her studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as a member of the Solar Energy Committee.
She was asked by the US government to help to create a solar distiller that turned seawater into fresh water during the Second World War. Soldiers stationed in the Pacific theatre employed this life-saving device.
During her career, Telkes earned more than 20 patents and worked as a consultant for many energy companies.
Due to her groundbreaking work in the US, Telkes became an American citizen in 1937.
She created solar energy applications until her death in the Hungarian capital on December 2, 1995.
Telkes was the first recipient of the Society of Women Engineers Achievement Award in 1952.
In 1977, she received a lifetime achievement award from the National Academy of Sciences Building Research Advisory Board for her contributions to solar-heated building technology and the Charles Greeley Abbot Award from the American Solar Energy Society.
