USA, Michigan

Former Retired Ford automotive engineer, Roberta Nichols, a pioneer of alternative fuels, has passed away in the US.

LA Times reports that Nichols died at her home in Michigan on April 3rd. She held three patents for the Flexible Fuel Vehicle and worked for Ford from 1979 until her retirement in 1995 as manager of its alternative fuel vehicle department.

Nichols was the first woman chosen as a fellow by the Society of Automotive Engineers and she established a scholarship program at the University of California to encourage women to pursue mechanical engineering careers.

She is reported as saying in an interview in 1993, “There is no best choice in fuels”, and that natural gas vehicles serve fleet applications well.

LA Times Obituary

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