Nancy Burr Deloye Fitzroy is an American engineer specializing in heat transfer and fluid dynamics.
Life
Born Nancy Burr Deloye in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, she became the first female student to study chemical engineering at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1949. Hired by Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory in 1950, she worked as an assistant engineer with the heat transfer group. In 1952, she became a development engineer for General Electric, initially working on the Hermes Missile Program and designing heat transfer surfaces for nuclear reactor cores. Nancy would remain with the General Electric company for the next 37 years. There she met her future husband, electrical engineer Roland Victor Fitzroy, Jr.; the couple were married in 1951. Nancy specialized as a heat transfer engineer with the Advanced Technology Laboratories beginning in 1963. In 1965 she was a heat transfer consultant with the Research and Development Center, working on gas turbines, space satellites and other technologies. She was appointed editor of the GE heat transfer and fluid flow data books, a reference work that was made available by subscription to engineers world-wide beginning in 1970. During the 1970s, Nancy turned to administrative and management roles. She was named manager for heat transfer consulting in 1971, a strategic planner from 1974–76, then an advanced concepts planner and proposal manager up to 1979. During 1979–1982 she was a manager of energy and environmental programs with GE's Turbine Market and Projects Division. Thenceforth she worked as a consultant involved with gas turbines, nuclear energy, and space vehicles. From June 1986–87 she became the first female president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers—the first woman to head a major national engineering society. She retired in 1987. Nancy Fitzroy was one of the first female helicopter pilots, and both she and her husband enjoyed flying, sailing and travelling. The Nancy DeLoye Fitzroy and Roland V. Fitzroy Medal was established in 2011 by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers to "pioneering contribution to the frontiers of engineering leading to a breakthrough in existing technology or leading to new applications or new areas of engineering endeavor". Nancy serves as chair for the committee that selects the recipients.
