Erna Hamburger (14 September 1911 – 15 May 1988) was a Swiss engineer and professor. In 1957, she became professor of electrometry at the University of Lausanne. She was the first woman in the history of Switzerland to be named a professor at a STEM university.
Early life and education Hamburger was born on 14 September 1911, in Brussels, Belgium to Frederick and Else Müller. She went to secondary school in Kissingen, Bavaria. She first started secondary school at an all-girls' school, and then moved on to be the only girl in her engineering classes. In 1933, Hamburger received an engineering-electrician diploma from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. Hamburger also received a doctorate in technical sciences from the same school in 1936.
Career In 1942, Hamburger was employed as an electrical engineer at Paillard SA in Sainte-Croix, Switzerland. Before becoming a professor at the University of Lausanne, Hamburger was the head of work at the electrotechnical laboratory at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne.
In 1957, Hamburger was appointed as the first woman in the history of Switzerland to be named professor at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. When this occurred, the president of the school, Maurice Cosandey, announced, "It is both a brilliant consecration and a measure of the backwardness that characterizes our country as regards the promotion of women."
Other positions Hamburger held include president of the Swiss Association of Women in Liberal and Commercial Careers, president of the Association of University Women of Vaud, and vice president of the International Federation of University Women.
One of her major innovations was the creation of an apparatus for radio-wave reception. This research included topics such as a system of optical registration from tone frequencies and ultra-short waves.
Hamburger joined the Swiss military in 1939 and was promoted to chief of the telecommunication troops in 1950.
Legacy Hamburger was an advocate for higher education. Shortly after her death, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne Women in Science and Humanities Foundation was created. The primary goal of this foundation is to promote and support women in higher education. Every year, the Erna Hamburger Prize is awarded to "the most influential woman in science" that year. +Laureates of the Erna Hamburger PrizeYearLaureateImpact in STEM2006Julia HigginsChemical engineer2007Christiane Nüsslein-VolhardBiologist and Nobel Prize winner2008Frances E. AllenComputer scientist and IBM Fellow Emerita2009Kazuyo SejimaArchitect and Pritzker Prize winner2010Lisa RandallPhysicist2011Ada YonathBiologist and Nobel Prize winner2012Felicitas PaussPhysicist at ETH Zurich2013Julia King, Baroness Brown of CambridgeBritish engineer2014Esther DufloEconomist2015Jill FarrantPhytologist2016May-Britt MoserPsychologist and Neuroscientist, winner of 2014 Nobel Prize2017Mary O'KaneAustralian scientist and engineer2018Jennifer WidomElectrical engineering and computing2019Antje BoetiusMarine Biologist and Geomicrobiology Professor 2020Michal LipsonPhysicist, in silicon photonics2021Sarah GilbertVacinologist2022Anne LacatonArchitect and educator2023Michelle SimmonsQuantum physicist2024Rosa Menéndez LópezChemistry, materials science and engineering development for new carbon materials2025Rose MutisoClimate resilient energy solutions 2026 - Margo Seltzerhttps://wish-foundation.epfl.ch/erna-hamburger-2026/
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