Excluded in a male-dominated field, the green pioneer of the solar heated home is the now the focus of the recently-premiered PBS documentary, “The Sun Queen.”

By Elisa Fernández-Arias

One of the green pioneers of the past, Mária Telkes, is finally getting the recognition she deserves in the PBS documentary, “The Sun Queen.” The documentary focuses on the life of Telkes, an inventor and chemical engineer who made great strides in using solar energy to power the home.

A Hungarian immigrant who came to the U.S. in 1924, Mária Telkes designed the first successfully solar-heated home, using energy from the sun to heat the home with fans. A big part of the project’s success was because Telkes identified a new chemical — the first of its kind to be discovered— that could store heat like a battery. However, her male colleagues and boss at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology stood in her way, being more interested in academic analysis than providing real-world practical solutions.

Despite these challenges, Telkes persisted. She decided to go her own way and found two new people to collaborate with on the project: her patron, the heiress Amelia Peabody, and American architect Eleanor Raymond, who also worked in a male-dominated field. The end result was the Dover Sun House — a solar energy-powered project that was funded, designed and made a reality by women.

Telkes forged a life path that was filled with many successes. By the time of her passing in 1995, she held over 20 patents, and is now considered by those in the sustainable energy field to be a visionary pioneer. With the release of PBS’s documentary — which premiered on Tuesday, April 4 at 9pm on KPBS TV, the PBS App and Encore Wednesday, as well as on April 5 at 9pm on KPBS 2 TV — she will be finally recognized as the pioneer she was by so many more.