BROOK PARK, Ohio – Thirty-five years ago, researcher Frances Hurwitz joined a NASA Lewis Research Center that she says had more female pin-ups than female doctorate recipients.
Hurwitz went on to win about 20 NASA awards and help liberate what's now NASA Glenn. "The environment at NASA is now very good," she says.
She received another one on Oct. 24 in Los Angeles -- the Society of Women Engineers' 2014 Achievement Award.
"Hurwitz was chosen in recognition of her pioneering work in the development of materials used in space exploration, for exceptional team leadership across disciplines and for her work to enable a more equitable work environment," the society said in a press release.
The former Frances Mazze grew up in the New York area. She earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry and a master's in library science, then worked in a pharmaceutical library. She followed her husband, Leon Hurwitz, to Cleveland in 1969 when he joined the political science department of a young Cleveland State University.
She earned a master's and doctorate in polymer science at Case Western Reserve University while raising two children and sometimes bringing them to play in the back of classrooms.
Hurwitz says she got less pay and less respect at schools and at workplaces than male colleagues. An interviewer once asked what sort of contraception she used.
In 1979, she became one of seven women at NASA Lewis with a doctorate. She grew to specialized in materials used at high temperatures in air and space flight. Currently, she studies insulation for an inflatable decelerator for a space rover.
The Shaker Heights resident has contributed to four book chapters, more than 100 scholarly articles and a patent. Her many awards include NASA's Exceptional Achievement Medal. She has served on technical committees for Rockwell, 3M, Grunman, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency and others.
Despite her success, Hurwitz says prejudices linger in her field. "I do a lot of work with students, and I've heard stories where they've seen harassment and discrimination recently."
At 69, she says she'll retire "one of these days." For now, though, "I'm still having fun."