Nancy Deloye Fitzroy

Born Nancy Burr Deloye in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, she became the first female student to study chemical engineering at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1949.

Hired by Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory in 1950, she worked as an assistant engineer with the heat transfer group.[2] In 1952, she became a development engineer for General Electric, initially working on the Hermes Missile Program[3] and designing heat transfer surfaces for nuclear reactor cores.[4] Nancy would remain with the General Electric company for the next 37 years. There she met her future husband, electrical engineer Roland Victor Fitzroy, Jr.;[1] the couple were married in 1951.

Nancy specialized as a heat transfer engineer with the Advanced Technology Laboratories beginning in 1963. In 1965 she was a heat transfer consultant with the Research and Development Center, working on gas turbines, space satellites and other technologies.[3] She was appointed editor of the GE heat transfer and fluid flow data books, a reference work that was made available by subscription to engineers world-wide beginning in 1970.[2]

During the 1970s, Nancy turned to administrative and management roles. She was named manager for heat transfer consulting in 1971, a strategic planner from 1974 to 1976, then an advanced concepts planner and proposal manager up to 1979. During 1979–1982 she was a manager of energy and environmental programs with GE's Turbine Market and Projects Division. Thenceforth she worked as a consultant involved with gas turbines, nuclear energy, and space vehicles. From June 1986–87 she became the first female president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers[3]—the first woman to head a major national engineering society.[5] She retired in 1987.[4]

Nancy Fitzroy was one of the first female helicopter pilots, and both she and her husband enjoyed flying, sailing and traveling.[1] The Nancy DeLoye Fitzroy and Roland V. Fitzroy Medal was established in 2011 by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers to "pioneering contribution to the frontiers of engineering leading to a breakthrough(s) in existing technology or leading to new applications or new areas of engineering endeavor". Nancy serves as chair for the committee that selects the recipients.[6]

• Achievement Award, Society of Women Engineers (1972)[3]
• Demers Medal, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1975)[3]
• Davies Medal, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (2014)[7]
• Centennial Medal, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (1980)[3]
• Federation of Professional Women Award (1984)[3]
• Honorary Fellow, Institution of Mechanical Engineers (1987)[8]
• Elected to the National Academy of Engineering (1996)[9]
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Hall of Fame (1999)[10]
• Honorary Membership Award, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (2008)[4]
• Honorary Doctorate in Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute[9]
• Honorary Doctor of Science Degree, New Jersey Institute of Technology[9]

• GE heat transfer and fluid flow data books (1955–1974)
• Career guidance for women entering engineering (1973)

• Women in Engineering: Nancy D. Fitzroy on YouTube
• "Associate Professor Frank Wicks honored by American Society of Mechanical Engineers", The Chronicle, Union College, vol. 71, no. 5, 5 October 2007, retrieved 17 April 2013.
• Buel, Bill (17 May 2013), "GE's Nancy Fitzroy is subject of latest Wizards of Schenectady video", The Daily Gazette, Schenectady, NY, retrieved 10 December 2015.