Cecilia Dianne (Cill) Richards is a retired Canadian and American mechanical engineer, known for her work on small-scale

heat engine A heat engine is a system that transfers thermal energy to do mechanical or electrical work. While originally conceived in the context of mechanical energy, the concept of the heat engine has been applied to various other kinds of energy, pa ...

s and on

microelectromechanical systems MEMS (micro-electromechanical systems) is the technology of microscopic devices incorporating both electronic and moving parts. MEMS are made up of components between 1 and 100 micrometres in size (i.e., 0.001 to 0.1 mm), and MEMS devices ...

. She is a

professor emerita ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

Washington State University Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest Land-grant uni ...

Education and career

Richards majored in mathematics at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

, graduating in 1977. After graduation, she began working on

solar energy Solar energy is the radiant energy from the Sun's sunlight, light and heat, which can be harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating) and solar architecture. It is a ...

with professors at the university, inspiring her interest in engineering. She continued at the university for a second bachelor's in mechanical engineering in 1981. While working in industry as an engineer in Vancouver and Southern California from 1981 to 1986, she earned a master's degree in mechanical engineering through the University of British Columbia in 1985. Next, she entered doctoral study at the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Irvine, California, United States. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, U ...

, completing her doctorate in 1990, under the supervision of Scott Samuelsen. She became the first woman to earn a doctorate in mechanical engineering there. After postdoctoral research at the

National Institute of Standards and Technology The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce whose mission is to promote American innovation and industrial competitiveness. NIST's activities are organized into Outline of p ...

, Richards joined the

faculty as an assistant professor of mechanical and materials engineering in 1992. She was tenured as an associate professor in 1998 and promoted to full professor in 2005.

Recognition

Richards was named as an

ASME Fellow 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 ...

in 2014. In 2022 the Henry Samueli School of Engineering at the University of California, Irvine named her to its alumni hall of fame.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Cecilia Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American mechanical engineers American women engineers Canadian mechanical engineers Canadian women engineers University of British Columbia alumni University of California, Irvine alumni Washington State University faculty Fellows of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers