Yvonne Brill

An obituary of Brill published in the March 30, 2013, issue of the New York Times drew much news coverage not necessarily because of her remarkable accomplishments in the field of rocket science, but due to apparent sexism. It originally began: “She made a mean beef stroganoff, followed her husband from job to job and took eight years off from work to raise three children”. Only several paragraphs later would you be able to find out that she was actually working part-time while raising her children, and then returning to full-time employment that lead to her fame for her research and innovations. The obituary was heavily criticized for leading with and overemphasizing Brill’s gender and family life, rather than her remarkable scientific and career achievements and was cited as an example of an article that failed the Finkbeiner test. The Times later dropped the reference to her cooking and changed the lead of the article.

Brill contributed to the propulsion systems of TIROS, the first weather satellite; Nova, a series of rocket designs that were used in American Moon missions; Explorer 32, the first upper-atmosphere satellite; and the Mars Observer, which in 1992 almost entered a Mars orbit before losing communication with Earth.

Brill was elected to the National Academy of Engineering (1987). She was also named fellow of The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) in 1985 and received its highest honor, the Achievement Award, the following year.

Between the years of 1981 and 1983, Brill also contributed to development of the rocket engines of NASA’s space shuttles. She finished her career at NASA, overseeing the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Program and on the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel.

Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Yvonne Brill, is a first-generation Canadian, as her parents were immigrants from Belgium. She was inspired to attend school by Amelia Earhart, the first woman pilot to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. When she was young, her father encouraged her to open a shop in their hometown, while her high school science teacher told her that a woman wouldn’t get anywhere in science. She ignored both. Yvonne was the first in her family to go to college, graduating from the University of Manitoba in 1945 at the top of her class with a bachelor’s degree in both chemistry and mathematics (Int. Engineering). She had originally applied to their engineering program at 18, but was denied by the school, as they claimed that their mandatory summer camp did not have the necessary facilities to host female students. Her denial to Manitoba’s school of engineering forever inspired her to encourage women in the sciences, and in her, forged an unwavering confidence against gender-based discrimination. She went on to study at the University of Southern California, where she took night classes and graduated in 1951 with a master’s degree in chemistry.

Following her graduation from USC, Brill began working at Douglas Aircraft in 1945 after being recruited despite her lack of an engineering degree. Her main interest was in engineering, but she transferred to Douglas’ chemistry department to work with rocket propellants, rocket engines, and ramjets. She then began working on the Project RAND contract at Douglas where they focused on a new field of rockets, including the first American satellite. It is believed that Brill was the only female rocket scientist in the 1940s, which was partly what attracted her to this line of work.

Yvonne Madelaine Brill (née Claeys; December 30, 1924 – March 27, 2013) was a Canadian American rocket and jet propulsion engineer. She is responsible for inventing the Electrothermal Hydrazine Thruster (EHT/Resistojet), a fuel-efficient rocket thruster that keeps today’s satellites in orbit, and holds a patent for its invention. During her career she was involved in a broad range of national space programs in the United States, including NASA and the International Maritime Satellite Organization.