GeekGirlCon Blog

Notable Scientists: Modern Chemists

Written by Adrienne M. Roehrich, Manager of Editorial Services

Double X Science runs a series called Notable Women in Science. As the chemistry editor at Double X Science, I write the series. GeekGirlCon is excited to post the series here on our blog, with minor modifications.

Our next installment of notable women in science brings us to chemists. Many of these women were born in the early part of the 20th century and forged their paths in tough times. All are still inspiring others today. Presented in no particular order:

Bryn Mawr College [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

 Catherine Clarke Fenselau is a pioneer in mass spectrometry. Born in 1939, her interested in science was apparent before her 10th grade. She was encouraged to attend a women’s college, which at the time gave what she called “a special opportunity for serious-minded young women.” She graduated from Bryn Mawr with her A.B. in chemistry in 1961. Her graduate work at Stanford introduced her to the technology she would become known for, receiving her Ph.D. in analytical chemistry in 1965. Dr. Fenselau and her husband took positions at the Johns Hopkins University Medical School, at which time she had two sons. Johns Hopkins was under a mandate to accept female students and have female faculty at the time. Dr. Fenselau was made aware of the disparity of the treatment of male and female faculty, when in the 1970s the equal opportunity laws came into effect and she received an unexplained 25% raise. Her research resided in mass spectrometry, specifically in its use in biology. She became known as an anti-cancer researcher. Dr. Fenselau spoke often to chemists about feminism and goals, such as equal pay, opening closed career opportunities to women, and achieving the bonuses often only awarded to men. She has worked as an editor on several scientific journals. Some of her awards include the Garvan Medal, Maryland Chemist Award, and NIH Merit Award. Having  proper help at work and at home, and having supportive mentors and spouse has helped her achieve her success.

Elizabeth Amy Kreiser Weisburger is considered a real-lifemedical sleuth. Born in 1924, Dr. Weisburger was one of 10 children and schooled at home for her early education. She received her B.S. in chemistry, cum laude, Phi Alpha Epsilon from Lebanon Valley College. She received her Ph.D. in organic chemistry in 1947 from the University of Cincinnati. She married and had three children. Her research has caused her to be proclaimed a pioneer in the field of chemical carcinogenesis. She balanced her busy life of working at the NCI, committee work, giving lectures, attending meetings, writing and reviewing papers while caring for children with the aid of housekeepers and nursery childcare. Some of her awards include the Garvan Medal and the HillebrandPrize. Her life philosophy is summed up with “Don’t take life so seriously; you’ll never get out of it alive.”

Helen M. Free with President Obama, 2009, National Science and Technology Medals Foundation, Photograph by Ryan K. Morris [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

 Helen M. Free is a major contributor to science and science education. Born in 1923, Ms. Free attended the College of Wooster, graduating with honors and a B.S. in 1944. In 1978, she earned a M.A. from Central Michigan University. In the meantime, she worked as a chemist at Miles Laboratories. She developed clinical effective and easy to use laboratory tests. She worked her way up through the company and also held an adjunct professor position at Indiana University, South Bend. Ms. Free has used her time to be active in professional societies and has served as president for the American Association for Clinical Chemistry and the American Chemical Society. Her awards include the Garvan Medal, a Distinguished Alumni Award from Wooster, and is the first recipient of the Public Outreach Award bearing her name.

Jeanette Grasselli Brown is an industry researcher and director. Born in 1929, she graduated summa cum laude with her B.S. from Ohio University in 1950 and received her M.S. in 1958 from Western Reserve University. She worked at Standard Oil of Ohio (now BP of America), and became the first woman director of corporate research there. She has received numerous awards including the Garvan Medal, Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame, and the Fisher Award in Analytical Chemistry. She has published 75 papers in scientific journals, written 9 books, and received 7 honorary Doctorate of Science degrees. She is an activist for the future of women in science.

Jean’ne Marie Shreeve is an important fluorine chemist. Born in 1933, she encountered sexism through her mother’s inability to be employed despite her training as a schoolteacher. Dr. Shreeve graduated with a B.A. from Montana State University in 1953, followed by an M.S. in 1956 from the University of Minnesota, and a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry in 1961 from the University of Washington. After graduating, she worked her way through the professorial ranks at the University of Idaho. Besides her own research, Dr. Shreeve has devoted herself to educating other chemists. Some of her awards include U.S. Ramsey Fellow, Alfred P. Sloan Fellow, and Garvan Medal.

Joyce Jacobson Kaufman, By Smithsonian Institution from United States, via Wikimedia Commons

Joyce Jacobson Kaufman is distinguished in many fields. Born in 1929, she was reading before the age of 2 and was a voracious reader as a child. This led to her reading the biography of Marie Curie, which inspired her to be a chemist. Dr. Kaufman received her B.S., M.A., and Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Johns Hopkins University in 1949, 1959, and 1960, respectively. She married and had a daughter. Her research in the application of quantum mechanics to chemistry, biology, and medicine led to her renown in several fields. She has also spent much time in service positions. Her awards include the Martin Company Gold Medal for Outstanding Scientific Accomplishments (received 3 times), the Garvan Medal, and honored as one of ten Outstanding Women in the State of Maryland.

Madeleine M. Joullie is known for elegant research and inspirational teaching. Born in 1927, her early life in Brazil was overly-protective, so her father encouraged her to attend school in the U.S.A. She received her B.Sc. from Simmons College in 1949, and her M.Sc. and Ph.D. in chemistry in 1950 and 1953, respectively, from the University of Pennsylvania. She then worked her way through the professorial ranks at the University of Pennsylvania. Initially, only the women graduate students would work with her, and they were few and far between. She has explored many research avenues over the course of her career. Her awards include the Garvan Medal, the American Cyanamid Faculty Award, the Henry HillAward, and the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching.

Marjorie Caserio is a researcher, educator, author, andacademic administrator. Born in 1929, she entered university with the goal of becoming a podiatrist in order to generic income. She received several rejections from colleges due to her gender, and eventually was accepted to be the only woman in her class. She received her B.S. from Chelsea College, University of London in 1950 and an M.A. and Ph.D from Bryn Mawr in 1951 and 1956. Dr. Caserio is co-author of one of the most popular organic chemistry textbooks in the chemistry during the 1960s and 1970s. Her awards include the Garvan Medal and John S. Guggenheim Foundation Fellow.

Mary Lowe Good, Chemical Heritage Foundation [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Mary Lowe Good has won several awards and is a public servant. Born in 1931, she was supported in her aspirations by her parents. She received her B.S. in 1950 from the University of Central Arkansas, which was then the Arkansas State Teachers College. She went on to receive her M.S. and Ph.D. in inorganic and radiochemistry from the University of Arkansas in 1953 and 1955. Her career began in academic, but an appointment to the National Science Foundation by President Carter changed the course of her career. She served the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, and president of the American Chemical Society and Zonta International Foundation. Some of her awards include Garvan Medal, CharlesLathrop Parsons Award, and 18 honorary doctorates.

Ruth Mary Roan Benerito is an academic and government scientist. Born in 1916, she began college at the age of 15 at Sophie Newcomb College, the women’s college of Tulane and received her B.S. in 1935. She received her M.S. from Tulane University in 1938, which she worked half-time while working another job at the same time. She taught at Tulane and its colleges before going to the University of Chicago to get her Ph.D. in 1948 in physical chemistry, again working on a part-time basis. Her career oscillated between academia and industry, earning her a large number of awards, including the Federal Women’s Award, the Southern Chemist Award, and inducted as a Fellow into the American Institute of Chemists and Iota Sigma Pi.

Awards

• The Garvan Medal is an award from the American Chemical Society to recognize distinguished service to chemistry by women chemists.
• The Maryland Chemist Award recognizes and honors its members for outstanding achievement in the fields of chemistry.
• The NIH Merit Award is a symbol of scientific achievement in the research community.
• The Hillebrand Prize is awarded for original contributions to the science of chemistry.
• The Distinguished Alumni Award from Wooster is presented annually to alumni who have distinguished themselves in one of more of the following area: professional career; service to humanity; and service to Wooster.
• Helen M. Free Award recognizes outstanding achievements in the field of public outreach.
• Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame provides public recognition of contributions made to the growth and progress of Ohio and the nation.
• The Fisher Award in Analytical Chemistry recognizes outstanding contributions to the field of analytical chemistry.
• U.S. Ramsey Fellow is no longer offered.
• Alfred P. Sloan Fellow is awarded to scientists and scholars of outstanding promise.
• Outstanding Women in the State of Maryland awards women under the age of 40 for their achievements already made in an early career.
• The American Cyanamid Faculty Award
• The Henry Hill Award recognizes distinguished service to professionalism.
• The Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching
• John S. Guggenheim Foundation Fellow is awarded for demonstrating outstanding scholarship.
• Charles Lathrop Parsons Award recognizes outstanding public service.
• The Federal Women’s Award
• The Southern Chemist Award
• The American Institute of Chemists advances the chemical sciences by establishing high professional standards of practice and to emphasize the professional, ethical, economic, and social status of its members for the benefit of society as a whole.
• Iota Sigma Pi is a national honor society for women in chemistry.

Much of the information for this post came from the book Notable Women in the Physical Sciences: A Biographical Dictionary edited by Benjamin F. Shearer and Barbara S. Shearer.

Eric Mack
“Rock On!”

Notable Scientists Series: Historical Chemists

Written by Adrienne M. Roehrich, Manager of Editorial Services

Double X Science runs a series called Notable Women in Science. As the chemistry editor at Double X Science, I write the series. GeekGirlCon is excited to post the series here on our blog, with minor modifications. The first in the series was on Historical Chemists.

Each woman presented could have multiple pages written on her; however, I have limited each to a paragraph. I hope you look up more on these women.

Miriam the Alchemist By Michael Maier (1566-1622)

The first historical woman in chemistry is perhaps Miriam the Alchemist, who lived in the 1st or 2nd century C.E. Her writings survived centuries. She has several aliases: Mary, Maria, and Miriam the Prophetess or Jewess. Even though she was an alchemist, which was mostly a mystical field during her time, her inventions and contributions yielded long-lived practical laboratory equipment. Miriam the Alchemist contributed major inventions and improvements to existing technology, as well as the water bath. The water bath is still in use today for many chemical experiments and was dubbed bain-marie in the 14th century.

Agnes Fay Morgan (1884-1968) was a pioneer in vitamin research [PDF]. She earned her B.S., M.S., and Ph.D.  from the University of Chicago. She also established Iota Sigma Pi, an honor society for women chemists. Morgan received the Garvan Medal and the Borden Award and was the only one of her family to attend college. Her efforts brought both nutrition and home economics to scientific disciplines. Besides her teaching position and doing research in academia, she also was an accomplished administrator and worked with the government on many occasions. She had many firsts in her research and an enormous number of publications.

Colloid Chemist Marjorie Jean Young Vold (1913-1991) was a prolific and distinguished scientist. She earned her B.S. and Ph.D. from University of California, Berkeley. Vold balanced academic and industrial chemist careers spanning over five decades. At the age of 45, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis but continued her dual chemistry careers despite being confined to a wheelchair. She was the LA Times Woman of the Year and received the Garvan Medal. One month before her death, Vold submitted her final paper, which was published posthumously.

Lucy Weston Pickett (1904-1997) chose a career in chemistry over marriage. She earned her B.A. and M.A. from Mt. Holyoke College and her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois and advanced through her academic career to become department chair. She received the Garvan Medal and two honorary D.Sc. degrees. She was so influential in her career that a fund was established in her name upon her retirement, which she requested be used to bring female speakers to the department.

Mary Lura Sherrill (1888-1968) was known for synthesis of antimalarial drugs. She earned her B.A. and M.A. from Randolph-Macon College and her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. Her academic career included becoming the chair of her department. She also received the Garvan Medal.

Ellen Swallow Richards

Chemist, Ecologist, and Home Economist Ellen Swallow Richards (1842-1911) was one of Vassar College’s first graduates, with an A.B. She earned her B.S. from MIT as its first woman graduate and her M.A. from Vassar College the same year. She had many firsts, including improving the standard of living by applying chemistry to sanitation, opening up science for women, and developing the home economics movement. Richards was also the first woman member of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers and first woman teacher at the MIT department of sanitary chemistry. She was awarded an honorary doctorate from Smith College.

Grace Medes (1886-1967) was a pioneer in metabolism research.  She earned her B.A. and M.A. from the University of Kansas and her Ph.D. from Bryn Mawr. Her academic career progressed until she became a department head and chairman. She earned the Garvan Medal and several Distinguished Service Citations. Dr. Medes was at the forefront of cancer research and named a rare disease, tyrosinosis [PDF].

Marguerite Perey (1909-1975) was the first woman to enter the French Academy of Science in 300 years. She earned her Diplôme d’État de chimiste from École d’enseignement technique féminine and her doctorate from Sorbonne. She worked with Marie Curie and discovered the element francium. Perey received the Lavoisier Prize from the Academie des Sciences and the Silver Medal from the Societe Chimique de France.

Mary Engle Pennington

Bacteriologist and Chemist Mary Engle Pennington (1872-1952) was a food preservation pioneer. Despite completing the requirements for a B.S. degree at the University of Pennsylvania, she was granted only a Certificate of Proficiency. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Pennington worked with the government although she hid her gender to receive her credentials. Called “ice woman” due to her advances in food preservation and refrigeration, she was known for a warm personality. Pennington was awarded numerous fellowships and was a member of many other professional organizations and honoraries, and received the Notable Service Medal and the Garvan Medal.

Pauline Beery Mack (1891-1974) was an instructor and publisher and loved chemistry. She earned her B.A. from Missouri State University, M.A. from Columbia University, Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State College, and a D.Sc. from Moravian College for Women, Western College for Women. She began the publication the Chemistry Leaflet which eventually became published by the American Chemical Society. She received the Distinguished Daughters of Pennsylvania Medal, the Garvan Medal, and the Astronauts Silver Snoopy Award. Dr. Mack also maintained a busy life outside of science, including basketball and music. She taught more than 12,000 undergraduates over her 30 years at Penn State. She was adept at securing funding for her research, no small feat for a woman in the 1930s. Mack continued into an administrative career and worked full time until she was 79.

Awards Mentioned:

The Garvan Medal is an award from the American Chemical Society to recognize distinguished service to chemistry by women chemists.

The Borden Award is given in recognition of distinctive research by investigators in the United States and Canada which has emphasized the nutritive significance of milk or any of its components.

LA Times Woman of the Year began as annual awards ceremony to honor women for individual achievement and was awarded from 1950 to 1976.

Lavoisier Prize (Lavoisier Medal) is awarded by the SCF to an individual or institution to distinguish the work or activities involving the chemistry honor.

Distinguished Daughters of Pennsylvania are those whose achievements on a national and statewide scale have been so outstanding that they have brought honor and respect to the commonwealth.

Astronauts Silver Snoopy Award candidates will have made contributions toward enhancing the probability of mission success, or made improvements in design, administrative/technical/production techniques, business systems, flight and/or systems safety or identification and correction or preventive action for errors.

Much of the information for this post came from the book Notable Women in the Physical Sciences: A Biographical Dictionary, edited by Benjamin F. Shearer and Barbara S. Shearer.

Adrienne M Roehrich, Double X Science Chemistry Editor
@fiainros

Eric Mack
“Rock On!”