Artifacts

The Doris Hurt Powers papers (1942 – 2008; 2 cubic feet) documents the student, aviation, and business activities of Doris Hurt Powers. Powers’ experience as a woman breaking into the male-dominated fields of engineering and aeronautics is well documented through autobiographical speeches and her memoir Nothing but Blue Skies. One strength of the collection are the speeches delivered by Powers that address the particular challenges and opportunities encountered by women in the engineering field. Powers traveled extensively, including several trips to Russia during and immediately after the cold war. In 1991, she was invited by the Russian Ministry of Aviation and Defense, and that trip is documented through photographs in Series 2. Materials in the collection include newspaper clippings, books, speeches, photographs, pamphlets, and artifacts.