Svitlana Winnikow

Svitlana Winnikow (14 August 1919 - 28 October 1981, born Swetlana Redtko-Redtschenko) was an engineer in Austria, Australia, and Canada before arriving in America in 1960. She was the first woman professor of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics at Michigan Technological University and the area director providing leadership for undergraduate and graduate programs for the energy thermo-fluids research group.

Winnikow graduated from universities in the former Yugoslavia and Austria before becoming the first woman to earn a PhD in Engineering at the University of Illinois where she was a member of the local Scientific Research Honor Society, Sigma Xi.

Her engineering experience included working for a consulting bureau in Austria and Department of Public Works in Australia. Winnikow's professional memberships included: Association of Professional Engineers of Alberta, Canada, Engineering Institute of Canada, American Association of University Professors, University of Illinois Alumni Association, and American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

She became a professor at Michigan Technological University in 1967 teaching fluid mechanics and thermodynamics. Shortly after her death in 1981, Michigan Technological University adopted a Special Tribute for her service and honored her request to apply $150,000 of her personal assets toward funding an endowed fellowship to graduate students studying thermo-fluid mechanics.

Winnikow's early research involved diesel engine design before arriving at Michigan Technological University to lead research efforts on experimental and analytical fluid mechanics.