1. Amelia Earhart Fellowship Program 80 Years and Counting January 2019

2. Amelia Earhart – Early Years
Started in a “socially acceptable” female role as a nurse’s aide
Enrolled in pre-med program at Columbia University
But, in 1920 she had a plane ride and instantly decided to be a pilot

3. Amelia’s Accomplishments
Set new altitude record for women by flying to 14,000 feet
First woman passenger to fly across the Atlantic
Set new altitude record by flying an autogiro to 18,415 feet – 1931
First woman to fly solo across the Atlantic
First woman to fly solo transcontinental
First woman to fly from Hawaii to the mainland
Attempted record to circumnavigate the world when she disappeared

4. Amelia’s Fame Belgian King and Queen President Hoover
Belgian King and Queen
President Hoover
Eleanor Roosevelt

5. Amelia Earhart’s Influence
Advocated for improving the status of women
Inspired women to pursue non-traditional roles
Counseled women in their careers as Purdue visiting faculty member

6. Why An Amelia Earhart Fellowship?
Zonta International wanted to honor the memory of Amelia, an internationally known and respected member of Zonta, with a scholarship for women graduate students in aeronautical engineering.

7. Scholarship Announcement 1938
Radio broadcast on Zonta’s 19th birthday announcing Zonta’s memorial to Amelia Earhart
Featured nationally on NBC’s “Let’s Talk it Over” program
Canadian Broadcasting Company offered the program over 36 outlets
Hawaii and Europe listened by short wave radio

8. First AE Fellow
Rose Elizabeth Lunn - doctoral student in aeronautical engineering at MIT
Accomplishments
1941 head of Vibration and Flutter Department at Curtiss Wright Corp
1942 head of Vibration and Flutter Group at North American Aviation
Started and managed her own vibration laboratory and an analog computer facility

9. AE Fellow – 1943 Gertrude Hill Fila (1943 & 1953)
Graduate study at Caltech received M.S. from Oklahoma A&M
1952 second women in Oklahoma to be licensed as an engineer
only female instructor and research engineer at Oklahoma Institute of Technology

10. Early Years of the Fellowship
In 1941, the Amelia Earhart Scholarship became an official International Service Project
Between 1940 and 1957, only 19 applicants qualified for the Amelia Earhart Fellowship
First award to non-US citizen
First award for study outside the US
Aeronautical Engineering definition broadens

11. AE Fellows and Status of Women
Today’s AE Fellows are following in Amelia’s footsteps
Breaking down image barriers
Advancing the Status of Women
AE Fellows are mentors and role models, improving the prospects for women in the future
Zonta is enabling women to move into positions of influence in universities, industry and government

12. Women in Aerospace Today
In the U.S., women represent 11.5% of the workforce in aerospace engineering fields
Women make up about 15% of aerospace engineering students
Women still have a long way to go

13. AE Fellowship Zonta International’s Longest Running Service Project
To date, Zonta has:
Enabled 1,144 women from 73 countries
Funded 1,573 Fellowships
Awarded over $10 Million US