Margaret R. Fox

Margaret R. Fox
Margaret R. Fox
Born	May 19, 1916
Died	August 27, 2006 (aged 90); Argyle, Wisconsin
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Wisconsin State College
Known for	Chief of the Office of Computer Information, National Bureau of Standards (now National Institute of Standards and Technology
	Scientific career
Institutions	U.S. Naval Reserve, National Institute of Standards and Technology

Last updated June 26, 2022

Margaret R. Fox (1916-2006) was an American electronics engineer and computer scientist.^[2] She was the Chief of the Office of Computer Information, part of the Institute for Computer Science and Technology of the National Bureau of Standards (now the National Institute of Standards and Technology) from 1966 to 1975 and was the first secretary of the American Federation of Information Processing Societies.^[3]

Education

Fox graduated from Wisconsin State College of Milwaukee in 1940.

Work

She taught school before joining the U.S. Naval Reserve in 1943.^[4] She was stationed at the Naval Research Station in Washington, D.C. and after her discharge in 1946, she continued working as an electronics engineer in radar. Fox joined the National Bureau of Standards as a member of the technical staff of the Electronic Computer Laboratory in 1951 and later joined the Research Information Center and Advisory Service on Information Processing, where she produced reviews and bibliographies.^[3] Along with Samuel N. Alexander, Fox prepared and planned a series of college computer courses beginning in 1966.^[5] She chaired the Technical Program Committee^[6] and in 1973, she became representative of the Bureau's Center for Computer Sciences and Technology.^[7]

She was appointed Chief of the Office of Computer Information, part of the Institute for Computer Science and Technology of the National Bureau of Standards (now the National Institute of Standards and Technology) in 1966. Fox held this position until 1975.^[8]

Society of Women Engineers

Fox was in charge of the Technical Program for the first International Conference of Women Engineers and Scientists (ICWES) which was held in New York City, United States of America in 1964 and was organised by the Society of Women Engineers (SWE). She worked alongside Beatrice Hicks the Conference Director and Ruth Shafer the Operations Chairman and Elsie Eaves who managed the PR for the conference.^[6]

Fox was elected a Fellow of SWE in 1991.^[9]

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References

↑ "Specifically SWE In Memoriam". Society of Women Engineers. 58 (Spring 2012).
↑ Ganly, J.; Nealon, M. "Celebrating Women in Computer Science" (PDF). The New York Public Library.
1 2 Margaret R. Fox Papers, 1935-1976. Finding Aid. Charles Babbage Institute, University of Minnesota
↑ Oral history interview with Margaret R. Fox, interviewed April 13, 1984, by James Baker Ross. Charles Babbage Institute, University of Minnesota.
↑ "Three County Colleges Take Part in NBS Computer Science Program". The News. March 12, 1970.
1 2 "Proceedings of the First International Conference of Women Engineers and Scientists" (PDF). Society of Women Engineers. June 15, 1964. Retrieved February 26, 2014.
↑ "News About Z39: Quarterly Reports" (PDF). American National Standards Institute. January 1973.
↑ "Margaret R. Fox: Pioneering Women in Computing Technology". The Ada Project. Retrieved February 26, 2014.
↑ "Individual Awards - Society of Women Engineers". swe.org. 14 December 2018. Retrieved 2021-10-13.