Elisa Leonida Zamfirescu: 5 things you should know about one of the world's first female engineers

The Romanian engineer is being honoured by a Google Doodle on 10 November, 2018

Saturday's Google Doodle will pay tribute to Elisa Leonida Zamfirescu, a pioneering Romanian engineer who would have turned 131 on that day.

Zamfirescu, born on 10 November, 1887, made history as one of the world's first female engineers.

In her 86 years of life, Zamfirescu carved herself a spot in a male-dominated field, led geology labs, and studied Romanian mineral resources.

Here are five things you should know about Zamfirescu as her legacy is being honoured:

1. She was rejected from her first school of choice due to discrimination against women

Zamfirescu, who grew up with 10 siblings, wanted to study at the School of Bridges and Roads in Bucharest after graduating high school but was rejected due to her gender.

Instead, she went to the Royal Technical University of Charlottenburg, now known as the Technical University of Berlin, where she studied mechanical engineering.

Zamfirescu enrolled in 1909 and graduated in 1912, becoming one of the first female engineers to do so in Europe.

2. She once worked for the Red Cross

Following her graduation, Zamfirescu went to work at Bucharest's Geological Institute, where she was the head of her laboratory.

During World War I, she worked for the Red Cross as a hospital manager around the small town of Mărășești, which was the site of the final major battle between Romania and Germany on the Romanian front in 1917.

3. She was a passionate and innovative worker

As part of her work as the head of her lab, Zamfirescu brought in new methods and new analysis techniques to study minerals and substances such as water, coal, and oil, according to Assistant Lecturer PhDc. Eng Iulia-Victoria Neagoe.

She is remembered as a dedicated engineer who worked long hours from morning to evening.

Zamfirescu kept working past retirement age and didn't fully retire until the age of 75 years old after a four-decade career, according to Neagoe.

4. There is a street named after her

The street where Zamfirescu lived in Bucharest was renamed after her in 1993, 20 years after her death.

This isn't the only way the engineer's name still resonates today: an award named after was created in 1997.

The "Premiul Elisa Leonida-Zamfirescu" honours female contributors to the fields of technology and science.

5. She was an advocate for international disarmament

In addition to her work as a chemical engineer, Zamfirescu took a stance in favour of disarmament, according to Neagoe.

She filed a complaint with the disarmament committee at London's Lancaster House, with a focus on nuclear threat.