Dr. Svitlana Winnikow was the first woman to hold the rank of professor at Michigan Tech.

She was a professor of mechanical engineering and was elected by her colleagues as the area director for the energy thermofluids research group, providing leadership for the graduate and undergraduate programs in this area.

Dr. Winnikow was born August 14, 1919 in Luck, Ukraine. She was a graduate of the University of Zagreb in the former Yugoslavia now Croatia. She attended the Technische Hochschule of Graz, Austria. She earned her PhD at the University of Illinois in 1965. Her Dissertation was "Motion and Heat Transfer of Droplets at Large Reynolds and Peclet Number."

Before coming to the United States, Dr. Winnikow had considerable experience in engineering, first for a consulting bureau in Austria and then for the Department of Public Works In Australia.

Her research work involved the design of diesel engines, preparation of specifications, and supervision of the installation of laboratory and test equipment.

She taught at the University of Illinois and the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada before coming to Michigan Tech in 1967.

She was a member of the Association of Professional Engineers of Alberta, Canada, associate member of the ASME, the Engineering Institute of Canada, the American Association of University Professors, the University of Illinois Alumni Association, and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Her colleagues knew Dr. Winnikow as a dedicated teacher who showed a constant concern of students, including "their humanity and their right to the best possible opportunities for understanding the mysteries of fluid mechanics and thermodynamics."

Dr. Winnikow died at age 62 on Wednesday, October 28, 1981 at St Joseph Hospital in Marshfield Wisconsin.

On November 11, 1981 the University Senate publicly adopted a Special Tribute recognizing the long and faithful service of Dr. Switlana Winnikow.

"Engineering at Illinois" also honors Dr. Winnikow on their Women in Engineering "Female Firsts" as the University of Illinois first women PhD in Mechanical Engineering.

She bequeathed about 99% of her estate and personal assets to the Michigan Tech Fund including $150,000 to fund an endowed fellowship in her name to a graduate student pursuing the study of thermo-fluid mechanics. President of Michigan Tech at the time, Dale F Stein said, "Dr. Winnikow's memory and her professionalism will be perpetuated in a unique manner every year. Outstanding students will follow her example and will appreciate the substantial grant she has made possible. We are deeply indebted to Dr Svitlana Winnikow."

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