Carolyn Hansson
Carolyn M. Hansson CM FRSC (nee Russell; March 15, 1941) is a Canadian materials engineer. She was the first female student to attend the Royal School of Mines at Imperial College, London, and the first woman to graduate with a PhD in metallurgy from there. Hansson was honoured for pioneering a monitoring system for evaluating the integrity of concrete structures.
Carolyn Hansson | |
---|---|
Born | Carolyn Russell March 15, 1941 Hazel Grove, Cheshire, England |
Occupation | Metallurgist |
Academic background | |
Education | B.Sc., Ph.D., physical metallurgy, Imperial College London |
Thesis | Lattice parameters and superconducting properties of alloys based on lead and idium (1966) |
Academic work | |
Institutions | Queen's University University of Waterloo |
Early life and education
Hansson was born on March 15, 1941 in Hazel Grove, Cheshire, England.[1] Growing up, she attended an all-girls school in England and applied for metallurgy at Imperial College.[2] Upon being accepted, she was the first female student to attend the Royal School of Mines at Imperial College, London, and the first woman to graduate with a PhD in metallurgy from there.[1] She was also only one of two women in the United Kingdom with a PhD in metallurgy.[3]
Career
In 1976, Hansson joined AT&T Bell Labs where she stayed four years before spending the following nine as a research scientist, and eventually as head of the Research Department, at the Danish Corrosion Centre.[4] When her husband was extended a position in Maryland, Hansson accepted an appointment within the Martin Marietta’s Institute for Advanced Studies.[2] In 1990, she became a professor and head of the Materials and Metallurgical Engineering Department at Queen's University and then joined the University of Waterloo in 1996 as Vice President of University Research.[4] The following year, she was elected a Fellow of The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society.[5] Hansson was eventually replaced as VP by Paul Guild in 2001 after a five year term.[6]
Hansson's research focus is on the corrosion of steel inside concrete. She has identified techniques for measuring the amount of corrosion and also studies rust-resistant reinforcing materials.[7] Hansson has worked as a consultant to the Ministry of Transportation Ontario and Alberta Transportation in corrosion monitoring of bridge structures.[8] In 2005, Hansson resigned from Hydrogenics Corporation upon their acquisition of Stuart Energy.[9] A few years later, she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada for her contributions in the basic science of corrosion and metallurgical processes and applied engineering.[10] Hansson also received the 2009 Acta Materialia, Inc. Materials & Society Award.[4]
In 2014, she was appointed Executive Secretary and Cooperating Society Governor of Acta Materialia Inc..[11] The next year, Hansson was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada for "pioneering a monitoring system for evaluating the integrity of concrete structures."[12] She has also been appointed a Fellow of the Danish Academy of Technical Sciences, the UK Institution of Materials, Minerals and Mining, and the American Concrete Institute.[11] Two years later, she joined the Board of Directors at Electrovaya Inc.[13] During the year, she was appointed head of Electrovaya's Disclosure Committee after it was fined $250 thousand by the Ontario Securities Commission.[14]
References
- "WOMEN OF IMPACT". metsoc.org. Archived from the original on October 30, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
- Blyth, Amanda L. "Blazing the Trail". aist.org. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
- Simone, Rose (February 19, 1996). "Campus jugglers : profs must balance teaching, research, UW's new v-p says: retirement". Waterloo Region Record.
- "2009 Acta Materialia, Inc. Materials & Society Award". pdfslide.net. 2009. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
- "Recipients: Fellow Class of 1997". tms.org. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
- "Paul Guild will be VP (research)". uwaterloo.ca. June 21, 2000. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
- "Carolyn Hansson". uwaterloo.ca. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
- "Dr. Carolyn Hansson, Ph.D., P.Eng" (PDF). uwaterloo.ca. Summer 2015. p. 2. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
- "Hydrogenics Announces Changes to Board of Directors Upon Acquisition of Stuart Energy". PR Newswire. January 18, 2005.
- "Four profs receive top academic honour". uwaterloo.ca. December 21, 2009. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
- "Professor Carolyn Hansson". actamaterialia.org. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
- "3 UW professors, RIM co-founder to receive Order of Canada Friday". cbc.ca. February 10, 2015. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
- "Professor Carolyn Hansson CM, FCAE, FRSC, joins Electrovaya's Board of Directors". electrovaya.com. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
- "CEO of Toronto-area cleantech firm Electrovaya hit with $250K penalty by OSC". canadianmanufacturing.com. July 4, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2019.