Margaret Taber
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April 29, 1935
Margaret R. Taber | |
|---|---|
| Born | Margaret Orr April 29, 1935 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Education | University of Akron |
| Occupation | Electrical engineer |
| Spouse | William J. Taber |
Margaret R. Taber (April 29, 1935 – June 10, 2015[1]) was a pioneer[2] for women in engineering. She was an electrical and electronics engineering educator. She was the author of several nonfiction books[3] and articles on computer programming. She has had computer labs named in her honor. She has established scholarships in her name.[4]
Taber was born in St. Louis, Missouri, as the only child to Wynn Orr and Margaret Ruth (Feldman) Stevens. Her father was an electrical engineer. Her mother was a department store clerk. They divorced and her mother raised her alone during World War II.[5]
They moved to Cleveland, Ohio, when Taber was in the sixth grade. Taber described her child-self as a tomboy. She had played with toy soldiers/sailors, pretended war, and owned a sailor suit. Before attending Wilbur Wright Junior High School, Tabor discovered the value of hard work. Tabor's favorite class at this point was physical education; she wanted to be a gym teacher.[5]
At South High School in Akron, Ohio, Taber was inspired by many teachers. There was a math teacher who seated students according to their score on the math tests. Instead of intimidating Taber, it inspired her to compete for the first row. Taber was inspired by another unnamed teacher, who was so dedicated to their future in college that she taught physics at her own expense. The physics class was not provided by the school. Her mechanical drawing teacher allowed her to progress at her own rate. During Taber's time in high school, she decided on electrical engineering, because she believed it "took math the furthest of all the engineering".[5]
Education
In 1958, Margaret graduated from Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Ohio. She had two bachelor's degrees in electrical engineering and engineering science, with an emphasis on mathematics. In 1967, Taber obtaining her Master of Science in engineering from the University of Akron. In 1976, Margaret received an Ed.D. from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.