Betty Lou Bailey (1929 – 2007)[1] was a General Electric Company mechanical engineer from the United States.
The invention operated so that one would vary both the throat and the exit diameters for the hot gas flows.
To date, that scholarship is still being distributed to eligible female graduate students who pursue a career in engineering.
[5] Bailey attended the undergraduate program in mechanical engineering at the University of Illinois a year early, at the age of seventeen.
[1][5] Bailey held positions at General Electric Company as a testing, design, and systems engineer in their Large Jet Engine Department, Gas Turbine Department, and its Valley Forge Space Technology Center.
She progressed in her work, from household appliances, to steam turbines and jet engineers, and finally to the NASA Nimbus weather satellite project.
During her initial job interview with GE, which occurred before she graduated from the University of Illinois, she remarked that, "I wanted to work for a company where engineers counted and were regarded as important.
"[2][6] In addition to her work, Bailey started a math tournament in Cincinnati for high school students.
[7] She was the first female member of the Engineering Society of Cincinnati and served as the chair of its Guidance Committee.
In 2004 she received their highest award for her work in monitoring hydropower applications to the Federal Regulatory Commission.