Roberta J. Nichols (November 29, 1931 Venice, CA – April 3, 2005, Plymouth MI) was an engineer and the Retired Manager, Electric Vehicle External Strategy at

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...

. She was a founding member of the advisory board for the College of Engineering - Center for Environmental Research & Technology (CE-CERT) at the

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Riverside, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of Cali ...

. She has authored or co-authored over 60 publications and she is the holder of three

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...

s for the

flexible-fuel vehicle A flexible-fuel vehicle (FFV) or dual-fuel vehicle (colloquially called a flex-fuel vehicle) is an alternative fuel vehicle with an internal combustion engine designed to run on more than one fuel, usually gasoline blended with either ethanol f ...

(FFV).

Education

Nichols received her Ph.D. in Engineering from

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

in 1979.

Career

She worked for the Ford Motor Company on

alternative fuel Alternative fuels, also known as non-conventional and advanced fuels, are fuels derived from sources other than petroleum. Alternative fuels include gaseous fossil fuels like propane, natural gas, methane, and ammonia; biofuels like biodies ...

s for 19 years, retiring in 1995. She helped to establish the research center at the

and she contributed to the overall engineering program at UCR.

Patents

*Control system for engine operation using two fuels of different volumetric energy content; Patent number: 4706629 *Control system for engine operation using two fuels of different volatility; Patent number: 4706630 *Spark timing control of multiple fuel engine; Patent number: 4703732

Memberships

Nichols was a Fellow of the

Society of Automotive Engineers SAE International is a global professional association and standards organization based in Warrendale, Pennsylvania, United States. Formerly the Society of Automotive Engineers, the organization adopted its current name in 2006 to reflect bot ...

. She was a Fellow of the

Society of Women Engineers The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) is an international not-for-profit educational and service organization. Founded in 1950 and headquartered in the United States, the Society of Women Engineers is a major advocate for women in engineering and ...

. She was a Member of the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. It is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), along with the National Academ ...

and she was a member of the

American Society of Mechanical Engineers The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing edu ...

. She was a University of California at Riverside CE-CERT Board member.

Awards

*National Achievement Award from the Society of Women Engineers 1988 *Gene Ecklund Award, US Department of Energy 1996 *Clean Air Award for Advancing Air Pollution Technology, SCAQMD 1989

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nichols, Roberta J 1931 births 2005 deaths American women engineers Engineers from California Ford Motor Company USC Viterbi School of Engineering alumni University of California, Riverside faculty Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering Achievement Award Recipients of the Society of Women Engineers Fellows of the Society of Women Engineers