Lillian Gilbreth Postdoctoral Fellowships at Purdue Engineering

The Gilbreth Postdoctoral Fellowships at Purdue Engineering are awarded in memory of Dr. Lillian Moller Gilbreth, Professor at Purdue from 1935-1948. A world-renowned pioneer in the application of psychology to industrial engineering, Dr. Gilbreth’s work epitomized interdisciplinary research and broader impact on industry and society. Dr. Gilbreth laid the foundations of modern industrial engineering, invented designs of consumer appliances, hospital, office, and sport equipment to make work and life easier, and was a consultant to many major corporations. She was elected to the US National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in 1965 and awarded the prestigious Hoover Medal in 1966 for “contributions to motion study and to recognition of the principle that management engineering and human relations are intertwined”. The NAE also established the Gilbreth Lectureship in 2001 as a means of recognizing outstanding young American engineers. Beginning in 1930, by serving on President Hoover’s Emergency Committee on Employment, she was as an advisor to five U.S. presidents on committees dealing with civil defense, war production, and rehabilitation of the handicapped. She also received more than twenty honorary doctorates from prestigious institutions. Purdue University’s e-archives feature many historical materials on Dr. Gilbreth’s life and career.

The goal of the Lillian Gilbreth Postdoctoral Fellowship Program at Purdue Engineering is to attract and prepare outstanding individuals with recently awarded PhD’s for a career in engineering academia through interdisciplinary research, training and professional development.

The Lillian Gilbreth Postdoctoral Fellows are selected not only for their outstanding scholarly achievements and proposed innovative interdisciplinary research but also for their potential for broader impact on industry and society. They undertake research with faculty mentors in different fields and participate in professional development activities tailored to their chosen path in academia.

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Postdoctoral Fellowship at Purdue Engineering Honoring Lillian Gilbreth