Marie Louise Compernolle
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Marie Louise Compernolle | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 17, 1909 |
| Died | February 11, 2005 (aged 95) |
| Alma mater | University of Ghent |
| Occupation | Engineer |
Marie Louise Compernolle (1909–2005) was the first female Flemish chemical engineer.[1]
Marie Louise Compernolle was born on 17 September 1909 in Assebroek, Flanders in Belgium to Hector Compernolle (1879-1960) and Marguerite De Smet (1882-1949).[2] She had a younger brother, Harry Compernolle (1913-1989) who later went on to become one of the two first paediatricians in Belgium.[3] Hector owned a business which sold soil excavated in the deciduous forests around Bruges, which florists used for the cultivation of azaleas in Ghent. Marguerite ran a grocery store from their home.[3]
Flavie De Smet, her mother Marguerite's eldest sister, was married to Jules Van den bussche, head teacher of the municipal school for boys in Assebroek, and the couple supported their niece and nephew's education.[3]
Education
Compernolle was taught first by nuns, then attended her uncle Jules's school in Assebroek, and was the only girl in the school. She then moved to the State Middle School in nearby Bruges, Until then, Compernolle had been educated in Flemish but the school taught lessons in French so she had to adjust to that. She moved on to the Royal Athenaeum after three years, where she was the first girl to be admitted.[3] Having been a successful student, Compernolle passed the university entrance examinations to study engineering and began her studies at Ghent University in 1929.[2] She came to specialise in chemical engineering and studied with teachers such as chemist René Goubau, engineer Gustave Magnel, and physicist Jules Verschaffelt.[2] In 1932, she graduated with a PhD in chemical engineering from Ghent University, the first female PhD in engineering from Ghent.[4] (Hélène Mallebrancke earned a civil engineering degree in 1923/24).[5]