The Gilbreth Colloquium
An expert in motion studies, Gilbreth refocused the attention of engineers on the human element in work. Her 1911 book The Psychology of Management is the foundation on which modern industrial management theory and practice is built.
In the 1940’s, Gilbreth became the first woman professor to teach at the Newark College of Engineering.
Dr. Gilbreth’s family life was made famous by the books Cheaper By the Dozen and Belles on their Toes, written by two of her 12 children. The impact that Gilbreth made on the engineering profession is less well known, however. The Gilbreth Colloquium aims to correct the record--and to make visible the wide-ranging contributions that many other women have made to the technological enterprise.
As part of this annual colloquium series, the Murray Center brings women leaders from academe, business and industry to talk about their successes, their research and how they shaped their careers. In March 2006, in collaboration with the NJIT Honors College and the Technology & Society Forum series, the Gilbreth Colloquium speaker was Dr. Margaret Leinen, Chief Science Officer and VP of Climos and former Assistant Director for Geosciences at the National Science Foundation who spoke on “Global Change: The Challenges for Research in a World Aware of Change.”