Peden, Irene (1925–)

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Peden, Irene (1925–)

American engineer. Born 1925 in Topeka, Kansas.

Participated in Antarctic program at University of Washington but, as a woman, could not get permission from Navy to travel on-site until after Lois Jones' all-women team of geochemists reached the Pole; became 1st American woman to journey into interior of Antarctica (1970) and provided important information about subjects, including electromagnetic properties of the ice sheet as well as radio propagation and the polar ionosphere; retired from University of Washington as professor emerita of electrical engineering (1994); received National Science Foundation's Engineer of the Year (1993).