Alva T. Matthews

Alva T. Matthews (August 29, 1933 – August 24, 2022) was an American research engineer in the field of structural analysis and wave propagation in solids. Dr. Matthews made significant contributions to the field of engineering mechanics and applied mathematics in the areas of shock analysis, elasticity and structural design.

Dr. Matthews held a Doctorate in Engineering Science (Eng.Sc.D.) and a New York State Professional Engineering license. She was recognized in 1971 by the Society of Women Engineers with its highest honor, the Achievement Award.

Early life and education Matthews was an only child and grew up in Great Neck, New York. Her mother was a homemaker and her father was a civil engineer who owned an industrial construction firm.

After attending Middlebury College and Barnard College, Matthews completed her B.S in 1955. in Soil Mechanics at Columbia University. She gained practical experience through summer work: drafting at her father's construction firm one summer, working in the Columbia University Graphics Department another summer and writing planning reports for a contractor's field office another summer.

In 1955, Matthews became the first women engineering instructor in the Civil Engineering Department at Columbia University, where she taught Strengths of Materials and laboratory courses. She earned her M.S., with honor (Tau Beta Pi and Sigma Xi), in structures at Columbia University in 1957.

In 1958, she became a Research Engineer at Weidlinger and started work towards her doctoral thesis. Her research was on the mechanical behavior of materials which had been subjected to dynamic impact loads. In 1965, she completed her Doctor of Engineering Science degree, in Engineering Mechanics and Applied Mathematics, at Columbia. She was then promoted to Senior Research Engineer at Weidlinger.

As a wave propagation specialist, Matthews also studied earthquakes to see how shock waves are transmitted through soil and rocks, and how buildings can be designed to withstand earth tremors. She has analyzed auto accidents to build safer cars and developed programming that was used in the development of the Telstar satellite tracking antenna and helicopter blade design.

Personal life Matthews married Abby Richard “Hap” Solomon in 1959. Solomon was an engineer who started working at the Xerox Corporation in 1961, located in Rochester, New York. They moved to New Canaan, CT in 1976 and had their only daughter, Stephanie Solomon, born in 1977. Stephanie earned a BA in psychology from Cornell University and MBA from Columbia University.

Matthews retired in 1982. She died in 2022 at the age of 88 in New Canaan, CT.