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Iowa State University Library

BIOGRAPHICAL ABSTRACTS

These are abstracts of the biographical research papers from students in the Fall 1999 class.  The complete biographical papers are in the ISU Library Archives as examples of teaching and student scholarship at ISU.  We thank the students who completed this project and have allowed their work to be shared with other researchers.

The personal papers of Karen Tonso, Edna Clark Mitchell, and Ada Hayden are part of the Archives of Women in Science and Engineering.

Bascom, Florence: Abstract by Christine Swanson

Florence Bascom was a pioneer of geology in the late 1800's and early 1900's. She had many years of education behind her before she founded the first geology department ever at a woman's college.  She influenced many other women to follow her footsteps and go into the field of geology.  When she went to school at the University of Wisconsin, her father was president, and she was still only allowed in the library and gym a few hours a week because of her gender.  While attending school at The John Hopkins she was forced to sit in the corner behind a curtain to avoid distracting the men she had classes with. However, Florence continued through her studies and was the first woman ever to earn a Ph.D. from The John Hopkins.  Her father was always there for her with encouraging words.  He wrote her many encouraging letters and also supported her financially through her education.  Without the support of her father, mentors, and fellow graduate students at the University of Wisconsin, Florence would not have had the determination and perseverance to become the influential geologist that she was.

Burnell, Jocelyn Bell: Abstract by Brittany Jones

Jocelyn Bell Burnell: A Bright Star in the History of Astronomy
The involvement and acceptance of women in science and engineering fields has become a more popular topic over recent years.  There are several success stories about scientific achievement's made by women.  One such story is that of Jocelyn Bell Burnell, an astronomer and physicist.  She was born in Belfast, Ireland, in 1943, and become interested in astronomy at a young age.  Many years later, while working on her thesis dissertation, she made the breakthrough discovery of pulsars - rapidly rotating, super-condensed, collapsed neutron stars.  Scientists continuing the study and search for more pulsars have since recorded over 400.  Later, her thesis advisor and another man were awarded the Noble Prize for the discovery.  Bell was not recognized for her diligence and significant role in the finding.  Although she was not acknowledged with that award, she soon received many others.  After graduating, Bell left astronomy for physics, but she continues to be a supporter and role model for women in science.  Her accomplishments have encouraged more students to become interested in astronomy and twice as many women to attain professor status at universities in the UK.  After years of balancing family life and her career, she continues to achieve high honors.  Bell is currently a full-time Professor of Physics and the Department Chair at Open University in Milton Keynes in the United Kingdom.

Curie, Marie: Abstact by Paige S. Thrailkill

Marie Curie: A Scientist, A Woman
Marie Curie is well known in the world of science.  Born in 1867 in Poland, Curie grew up in a home that placed a high value on education.  Although she faced tragedy, the deaths of her mother and older sister, and hardship in her youth, she persevered and eventually received degrees in both physics and mathematics, both accomplishments non-typical for women in Europe at that time.  She became the first woman ever to receive a Nobel prize when she and two others discovered the element polonium.  Through this discovery and their later discovery of elemental radium, the concept of radioactivity was introduced.  Later, Curie became the first person ever to receive two Nobel prizes when she won her second for her isolation and research in determining the properties of radium.  She used her knowledge of radiology not only to teach others, but also to help nurses treat injured soldiers in World War I.  Tragically, Curie died of leukemia, a cancer of the bone marrow, in 1934.  Her continual exposure to radioactivity during her life is thought to have caused her death.

Gilbreth, Lillian: Abstract by Nordica A. Hudelson

Lillian Gilbreth - "The First Lady of Engineering"
The story of Lillian Gilbreth (1878-1972) is proof of what marriage can do for a woman who wants to combine other work with homemaking if her husband believes in his wife's abilities and wants to help her use all of them.  She was a management engineer who made history by completely changing the way workers are treated in industry. After finishing her master's degree in English and psychology at age 25 during a time when women rarely went to college, she met Frank Gilbreth on a trip to Boston.  He was a brilliant and enthusiastic self-taught contractor/engineer and an avid supporter of women's rights.  They were married within just 12 days of meeting.  He inspired her and taught her his trade of eliminating unnecessary motions in work, and she soon added her own breakthrough ideas that the most efficient methods did not necessarily result in the greatest happiness and thus did not always maximize productivity.  Together they helped found the theories of scientific management, which forms the foundation of business and industry today.  In her lifetime, she earned over twenty honorary degrees, won over 25 awards and medals, authored over ten books and numerous articles, and served under five Presidents on committees dealing with civil defense, war production, aging, and rehabilitation of the physically handicapped.  Despite her incredible accomplishments, today she is mainly remembered in connection to her husband and in books specifically highlighting women in science.  But it was she who began the process of opening the doors for women to enter the field of engineering, proving that a woman's perspective can make a huge difference in shifting paradigms in science.  Her story is an inspiration to myself and to any other woman who wants to be recognized for her talents and accomplishments instead of her gender.

Hamilton, Alice: Abstract by Amber Pearson

Alice Hamilton: A Closer Look
Alice Hamilton was born on February 27, 1869, and passed away 101 years later on September 27, 1970.  Throughout her lifetime she made numerous contributions to society.  Alice excelled in the scientific world at a time in history when a woman's place was considered to be in the home.  She was most well known for her diligent work in the fields of pathology and toxicology.  Alice reformed the industrial world by working to make conditions in the work place less dangerous and free of toxic substances such as lead and carbon monoxide.  She played a major role in getting programs such as worker's compensation started.  Alice spent a great deal of her free time at the Hull House in Chicago working with Jane Addams to help those less fortunate.  She supported progressive movements pertaining to social reform and birth control and was an active peace advocate.  Alice was a dominant figure in the heart of the man's world.  She received her medical degree from the University of Michigan in 1893.  Alice founded the field of occupational medicine and made many discoveries pertaining to the effects of toxic substances on members of the work force.  Alice was the first woman to attend a German University and the first woman professor at Harvard University.  Alice had a strong desire to be useful, an intense need for independence, and a love of adventure.  These personality traits along with the influence and support of family members and Jane Addams made Alice one of the most revered people in history.

Hayden, Ada: Abstract by Christine Notis

Papers, RS 13/5/55  (WISE Archives)
http://www.lib.iastate.edu/spcl/wise/aids/hayden.html
K-12 Project Resources on Women in Science and Engineering
http://www.lib.iastate.edu/spcl/wise/k12.html

The Worthy Ada
Ada Hayden was the first woman to receive a Ph.D. at Iowa State University, then known as Iowa State College (ISC).  Two years after she obtained this degree, in 1920, Ada accepted the position of Assistant Professor of Botany at ISC.  In 1934, Hayden became the curator of the ISC Herbarium, now called the Ada Hayden Herbarium, which she developed and improved immensely.  The floristic studies she completed in 1943 of the northern Iowa Lake region are still considered the best of any part of Iowa.  Hayden is best known for her work in conservation, however.  While Dr. L.H. Pammel, her mentor, was the creator of the parks system, Hayden had the idea of the preserves system.  In 1945, Ada published a paper recommending the preserve of certain prairie tracts in the state and described why their preserve was necessary.  Influenced by her paper, later that same year, the state of Iowa made its first purchase of virgin prairie, which was in Howard County.  After her death in 1950, this prairie tract was named the Ada Hayden Prairie.  Unfortunately, Hayden never did receive public recognition for her efforts during her lifetime (Isely, 1989; Lovell, 1987).

Hyman, Libbie Henrietta: Abstract by Danielle Weber

Dr. Libbie Henrietta Hyman
Zoology is the study and the classification of  animal life forms.  It is a field of study that has been around for centuries; and many scientists deserve recognition for their contributions.  Dr. Libbie Henrietta Hyman is one of those scientists.  Dr. Hyman lived from 1888-1969 and was known throughout her lifetime as a person who,
“presented a formidable exterior: she was proud but above vanity, scorning superficiality, ostentation, injustice, and fraud.  Her close friends were those she respected, and they knew her gentle, warm, and generous nature" (Nature, 1970).  This proud woman made a very important contribution to the field of zoology with her six volume treatise, The Invertebrates, published by the McGraw-Hill Book Company.  These six volumes were very important in the organization description and classification of invertebrates.  Without Dr. Hyman, zoology would be without an important reference that is still used today.

Mitchell, Edna Clark: Abstract by Holly Elbert

Papers, MS-297  (WISE Archives)
http://www.lib.iastate.edu/spcl/wise/aids/mitchell.html

Edna Mitchell lived most of her life in Ames, Iowa attending Ames High School and Iowa State College.  At Iowa State she received her Bachelors Degree in dietary science, but also took courses in math and drafting.  Edna served as a dietician in WWI, where she met her husband, Paul Mitchell.  Edna and Paul were married and returned to Ames. Here they had had three sons, Dow, Wallace, and Paul.  After six years, Edna and Paul's marriage began to fall apart and they obtained a divorce. Edna was left as the sole support of her family, and began work at the Iowa Highway Commission (now the Department of Transportation) in 1926 as a draftswoman. Edna did preliminary drawings for roads, culverts, and bridges.  She eventually ended up being in charge of several other women drafters in the bridge department.  She worked there for 33 years before retiring in 1960.

Edna's family is also one full of engineers.  Her son Paul, four granddaughters, and one grandson have pursued careers or education that is engineering related.  It is likely that engineering talent and interests run in the Mitchell family, but Edna's choice of career made it apparent to her granddaughters that women can pursue engineering related fields and be successful.

Tonso, Karen: Abstract by Magy Fox

Papers, MS-382  (WISE Archives)
http://www.lib.iastate.edu/spcl/aids/tonso.html

Woman.  Lady.  Girl.  Gal.  Chick.  Babe.  Honey.  Sugar.  Baby.  Whichever you prefer, you are still a female in a male's world.  The issue of gender plays a big role in engineering.  Karen Tonso, born in the 1950's, lived with the issues of being a woman in engineering while receiving her education in Colorado.  She obtained her bachelor's degree in geological engineering from the Colorado School of Mines.  After graduating, Tonso was employed at four different engineering companies from 1972-1987.  She worked at Robert K. Morse Consulting Engineers, Continental Oil Company, Marathon Oil Company and Central Bank of Denver.  In 1990, she received her masters in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Colorado at Denver.  Then in 1997, she acquired her doctorate degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder.  Her dissertation was entitled Construction Engineers Through Practice:  Gendered Features of Learning and Identity Development.  For her research she observed women in engineering classes  from 1993-1997. She saw that women had to deny their womanhood to fit in the engineering environment, and she viewed engineering classes where women were normally invisible.  Tonso is known for her unpublished articles, published articles, presentation and her dissertation.  Presently Tonso is a visiting professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

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