Telkes moved to the United States in 1925, Becoming an American citizen in 1937 marked a pivotal moment in Telkes's life. That same year, she transitioned to a research engineer role at Westinghouse Electricand Manufacturing Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She initially focused on developing metal
alloys for
thermocouples to convert
heat into
electricity. However, its initial deployment was delayed until the end of the war because
Hoyt C. Hottel repeatedly re-negotiated the manufacturing contracts for the machine.
Heat storage Telkes identified
thermal energy storage as the most "critical problem" facing designers of a workable solar-heated house. with the project financed by philanthropist and sculptor
Amelia Peabody. The system was designed so that Glauber's salt would melt in the sun, trap the heat, and then release it as it cooled and hardened. In 1953
George Russell Harrison, dean of science at MIT, called for a review of the solar fund at MIT, due to concerns about its lack of productivity. The resulting report tended to promote Hottel's views and disparaged both Cabot and Telkes. Telkes was fired by MIT in 1953 after the report came out. The project criteria included: "it had to be able to cook, boil, and bake according to any local custom", "durable, portable, and simple to use and clean", cheap, and it must be able to be used in the early evening (para. 39). Though not the first solar oven invented of this type (in India one was being used in low quantities for $14), its "simplicity and cheapness"(para. 3) was its hallmark with a projected cost of $5 in 1954. Using a tightly insulated box, four mirrors, a glass window, and "a special heat-absorbing chemical"(para. 3), it reached within 30 minutes. She was appointed Solar Research Director in 1958 for Curtis-Wright Corp. and New York University, over joint and separate solar energy projects. Telkes spent several years in industry. Initially, she was the director of solar energy at the
Curtiss-Wright Company. Next, she worked on materials for use in extreme conditions, such as space, at Cryo-Therm (1961–1963) as Director of Research and Development (para. 5). This work included helping to develop materials for use in the
Apollo mission and
Polaris missiles, specifically to help maintain constant temperatures for optimum missile functionality. In 1964 she spoke at the first
International Conference of Women Engineers and Scientists in New York. In 1969 Telkes joined the Institute of Energy Conversion at the
University of Delaware She continued inventing and filing patents into her 80s, and died December 2, 1995, at the age of 94, in her native Budapest, Hungary. == Awards, accolades, honors, professional groups ==