Nancy S. Timmerman
Nancy S. Timmerman, P.E., is the first woman president of the Institute of Noise Control Engineering (INCE).
She has been a member of SWE (Society of Women Engineers) since about 1977. At the time, women in engineering, especially in Boston were relatively rare (only two students in Ocean Engineering). The women engineers at the time got to know each other fairly well. At MIT, Sheila Widnall, who had been involved in SWE, was one of her professors. Nancy has also served on committees assessing awards for SWE, presented a SWE award to a Boston Public School science fair student, and presented her story to high school students (2012).
She has a B.S. in Science Engineering from Northwestern University, with specialization in acoustics. She was among early women majoring in engineering, which she chose because of its prospects for employment. One job she held was at Shure Brothers, Inc., a microphone manufacturer. Although she was introduced to shop at the job, Northwestern had discontinued that subject as a requirement for engineers in favor of computer programming. Since she had no difficulty with that subject, she was able to implement the writing and reviewing of code in later years. It was at the suggestion of the Dean's Office at Northwestern that Nancy took and passed the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), and applied for a National Science Foundation Fellowship. She received it - all expenses paid to the college or university of your choice. She wound up at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), who offered a Research Assistantship on top of the NSF money.
At MIT, she was one of two women studying Ocean Engineering at the time. Her research occurred in the A&V (Acoustics and Vibration) Lab. Her professors included Patrick Leehey, Ira Dyer, Stephen Crandall, Richard M. Lyon, and Sheila Widnall. She intended to receive a Ph.D. from MIT. At MIT, the number of women engineering students was also small. She met some during her extracurricular participation in their swimming team. She did her best to study for her qualifiers on her own, but was unsuccessful. She therefore stayed on the Fellowship and instead studied for her Master's. MIT awarded her an M.S. in Ocean Engineering for her study on the background noise in the lab's Wind Tunnel.
After graduation, she worked for engineering consulting firms doing noise and vibration work for heavy industry (power and process facilities. It is then that she became a Registered Professional Engineer (P.E.) in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (Mechanical). Then she became Board Certified by the Institute of Noise Control Engineering (INCE). She later served as the first woman President and an Initial Fellow.
After she got a job related to her degree at Bolt, Beranek, and Newman doing work on materials and designs for sonar (Navy classified work). She has been a long-time member of the Audio Engineering Society, where she has served as the first woman to be Vice President. She is also a member of Tau Beta Pi (engineering honorary society).
For the Acoustical Society of America (ASA), Nancy has served on the Women in Acoustics Committee, the Medals and Awards Committee, the Technical Committee on Architectural Acoustics, and the Technical Committee on Noise where she is a Past Chair and where she was elected Fellow in 1999 for her pioneering work on airport noise monitoring when working at Boston's Logan Airport. She developed (for the ASA) a public policy on Wind Turbine Noise.
Over the years, Nancy has tried to provide an example to young women who want to study engineering. Those examples include the work for SWE (above), regular visits to MIT as an alumna, and meetings with prospective students to Northwestern's MacCormick School of Engineering.
Nancy is effectively retired, having difficulty using some of the newer tools and connectivity. She also holds a Service Playing Certificate from the American Guild of Organists, although is not currently playing.
She has been a member of SWE (Society of Women Engineers) since about 1977. At the time, women in engineering, especially in Boston were relatively rare (only two students in Ocean Engineering). The women engineers at the time got to know each other fairly well. At MIT, Sheila Widnall, who had been involved in SWE, was one of her professors. Nancy has also served on committees assessing awards for SWE, presented a SWE award to a Boston Public School science fair student, and presented her story to high school students (2012).
She has a B.S. in Science Engineering from Northwestern University, with specialization in acoustics. She was among early women majoring in engineering, which she chose because of its prospects for employment. One job she held was at Shure Brothers, Inc., a microphone manufacturer. Although she was introduced to shop at the job, Northwestern had discontinued that subject as a requirement for engineers in favor of computer programming. Since she had no difficulty with that subject, she was able to implement the writing and reviewing of code in later years. It was at the suggestion of the Dean's Office at Northwestern that Nancy took and passed the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), and applied for a National Science Foundation Fellowship. She received it - all expenses paid to the college or university of your choice. She wound up at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), who offered a Research Assistantship on top of the NSF money.
At MIT, she was one of two women studying Ocean Engineering at the time. Her research occurred in the A&V (Acoustics and Vibration) Lab. Her professors included Patrick Leehey, Ira Dyer, Stephen Crandall, Richard M. Lyon, and Sheila Widnall. She intended to receive a Ph.D. from MIT. At MIT, the number of women engineering students was also small. She met some during her extracurricular participation in their swimming team. She did her best to study for her qualifiers on her own, but was unsuccessful. She therefore stayed on the Fellowship and instead studied for her Master's. MIT awarded her an M.S. in Ocean Engineering for her study on the background noise in the lab's Wind Tunnel.
After graduation, she worked for engineering consulting firms doing noise and vibration work for heavy industry (power and process facilities. It is then that she became a Registered Professional Engineer (P.E.) in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (Mechanical). Then she became Board Certified by the Institute of Noise Control Engineering (INCE). She later served as the first woman President and an Initial Fellow.
After she got a job related to her degree at Bolt, Beranek, and Newman doing work on materials and designs for sonar (Navy classified work). She has been a long-time member of the Audio Engineering Society, where she has served as the first woman to be Vice President. She is also a member of Tau Beta Pi (engineering honorary society).
For the Acoustical Society of America (ASA), Nancy has served on the Women in Acoustics Committee, the Medals and Awards Committee, the Technical Committee on Architectural Acoustics, and the Technical Committee on Noise where she is a Past Chair and where she was elected Fellow in 1999 for her pioneering work on airport noise monitoring when working at Boston's Logan Airport. She developed (for the ASA) a public policy on Wind Turbine Noise.
Over the years, Nancy has tried to provide an example to young women who want to study engineering. Those examples include the work for SWE (above), regular visits to MIT as an alumna, and meetings with prospective students to Northwestern's MacCormick School of Engineering.
Nancy is effectively retired, having difficulty using some of the newer tools and connectivity. She also holds a Service Playing Certificate from the American Guild of Organists, although is not currently playing.
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