The Sun Queen - Director Amanda Pollak & Writer Gene Tempest

From the filmmaking team of Amanda Pollak and Gene Tempest comes the illuminating documentary film, THE SUN QUEEN. For nearly 50 years, chemical engineer and inventor Mária Telkes applied her prodigious intellect to harnessing the power of the sun. She designed and built the world’s first successfully solar-heated modern residence and identified a promising new chemical that, for the first time, could store solar heat like a battery. And yet, along the way, she was undercut and thwarted by her boss and colleagues — all men — at MIT. Despite these obstacles, Telkes persevered and, upon her death in 1995, held more than 20 patents. She is now recognized as a visionary pioneer in the field of sustainable energy. An unexpected and largely forgotten heroine, Telkes was remarkable in her vision and tenacity — a scientist and a woman in every way ahead of her time. Her research and innovations from the 1930s through the ‘70s continue to shape how we power our lives today. Director / Producer Amanda Pollak and Writer / Producer Gene Tempest stop by to talk abut the life and times of Maria Telkas, her scientific and engineering acumen, the battles with institutional sexism, the enthusiasm she brought to the implementation of solar technology and the immense power of the fossil fuel companies to strangle the nascent solar power movement before it could gain public acceptance. To watch: pbs.org/the-sun-queen/American Experience For more go to: insigniafilms.com