Elda Emma Anderson
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Elda Emma Anderson (October 5, 1899 – April 17, 1961) was an American
physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...
and health researcher. During World War II, she worked on the
Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the ...
at
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
and the
Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory (often shortened as Los Alamos and LANL) is one of the sixteen research and development Laboratory, laboratories of the United States Department of Energy National Laboratories, United States Department of Energy ...
, where she prepared the first sample of pure
uranium-235 Uranium-235 ( or U-235) is an isotope of uranium making up about 0.72% of natural uranium. Unlike the predominant isotope uranium-238, it is fissile, i.e., it can sustain a nuclear chain reaction. It is the only fissile isotope that exists in nat ...
at the laboratory. A graduate of the
University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...
, she became professor of physics at
Milwaukee-Downer College Milwaukee-Downer College was a women's college in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in operation from 1895 until its merger with Lawrence University in 1964. History Milwaukee-Downer College was established in 1895 with the merger of two institutions: Milwau ...
in 1929. After the war, she became interested in
health physics Health physics, also referred to as the science of radiation protection, is the profession devoted to protecting people and their environment from potential radiation hazards, while making it possible to enjoy the beneficial uses of radiation. H ...
. She worked in the Health Physics Division of the
Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is a federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1943, the laboratory is sponsored by the United Sta ...
, and established the professional certification agency known as the American Board of Health Physics.


Early life and education

Elda Emma Anderson was born in
Green Lake, Wisconsin Green Lake is a city in and county seat of Green Lake County, Wisconsin, United States. The city had a population of 1,001 in the 2020 census. It is located on the north side of Green Lake. The Town of Green Lake is located on the south side o ...
, on October 5, 1899, to Edwin A. Anderson (born in Wisconsin) and his wife, Lena (née Heller) (born in Germany). Anderson was one of three children. Although she was captivated by numbers at an early age, Anderson actually sought to become a kindergarten teacher. This would shift to an interest in science later, partially due to the influence of her older sister, who was an assistant chemistry instructor. As a whole, although her family had certain lofty expectations for their younger daughter, they all supported her in her academic endeavors. Anderson earned a
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
(AB) degree from Ripon College in 1922, then a
Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...
(AM) in physics from the
University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...
in 1924. From 1924 to 1927, she taught at Estherville Junior College in
Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
, where she was the dean of
physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...
,
chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...
and
mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
.Editor. (April 19, 1961). "Atom Bomb worker Dies, Dr. Elda Anderson". ''The Milwaukee Journal''. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. p. 16. In 1928, she taught Chemistry and Physics at Menasha High School. In 1929, she became professor of physics at
Milwaukee-Downer College Milwaukee-Downer College was a women's college in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in operation from 1895 until its merger with Lawrence University in 1964. History Milwaukee-Downer College was established in 1895 with the merger of two institutions: Milwau ...
(an elite women's college later absorbed into Lawrence University), then head of the physics department in 1934.


Career and research

In 1941 Anderson completed her
PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
at the
University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...
, writing her thesis on "Low energy levels in the atomic spectra Co VII and Ni VIII". Immediately after finishing her PhD, Anderson requested time off from her position at Milwaukee-Downer College, in order to conduct war research related to the Manhattan Project at the Office of Scientific Research and Development at Princeton University. Not long after, Anderson was recruited to continue her work specifically at Los Alamos Laboratory. At her new location, Anderson studied basic fission parameters, including analyzing the time delays associated with the absorption and emission of neutrons. Such work often entailed working upwards of sixteen hours a day. Among other accomplishments at Los Alamos, Anderson prepared the first sample of pure
uranium-235 Uranium-235 ( or U-235) is an isotope of uranium making up about 0.72% of natural uranium. Unlike the predominant isotope uranium-238, it is fissile, i.e., it can sustain a nuclear chain reaction. It is the only fissile isotope that exists in nat ...
at the laboratory. While there, she lived in a dormitory, and being older than most of the other residents (she was aged fifty), she was put in charge. She often worked at night, wearing jeans and a plaid shirt – not the usual attire for a woman at the time. Following the war, in 1947, Anderson left Los Alamos and returned to teaching at Milwaukee-Downer College, but her involvement in atomic physics led to an interest in the health effects of radiation. In 1949, she left teaching to begin a career in
health physics Health physics, also referred to as the science of radiation protection, is the profession devoted to protecting people and their environment from potential radiation hazards, while making it possible to enjoy the beneficial uses of radiation. H ...
. At the Health Physics Division of the
Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is a federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1943, the laboratory is sponsored by the United Sta ...
in Tennessee, which was only five years old when she joined, she became the first chief of education and training. She spent her career helping to establish the new training program in health physics, teaching and advising graduate fellows in health physics from 1949. In 1949, Anderson moved to
Oak Ridge, Tennessee Oak Ridge is a city in Anderson County, Tennessee, Anderson and Roane County, Tennessee, Roane counties in the East Tennessee, eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee, about west of downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, Knoxville. Oak Ridge's po ...
to become the first chief of education and training in the Health Physics Division of the
Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is a federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1943, the laboratory is sponsored by the United Sta ...
. Anderson also worked with faculty members at
Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...
in
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
, to create a
master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...
program in health physics at that institution. In addition, she was responsible for training military personnel, state and federal officers and university professors who are currently the leaders in health physics. Outside of necessary obligations, Anderson was also known for helping students with problems both academic and personal, lending helpful guidance. In some cases, Anderson was known to have given loans to students, as well share a drink in troubling times. Anderson organized the first international course in her field in
Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
in 1955; she organized similar courses in
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
in 1957 and
Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
in 1958. She supported the establishment of the
Health Physics Society The Health Physics Society (HPS) is a nonprofit scientific professional organization whose mission is excellence in the science and practice of radiation safety. It is based in the United States and the specific purposes of the society's activi ...
in 1955, serving as secretary pro tem and then charter secretary, and eventually as president of the Society from 1959 to 1960. In 1960, she established the professional certification agency known as the American Board of Health Physics. Despite contracting leukemia in 1956, Anderson remained undeterred in her career and maintained her position for several years until her eventual death in 1961.


Death and legacy

In 1956, Anderson, who never married and had no children, developed
leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...
. She died nearly five years later in
Oak Ridge, Tennessee Oak Ridge is a city in Anderson County, Tennessee, Anderson and Roane County, Tennessee, Roane counties in the East Tennessee, eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee, about west of downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, Knoxville. Oak Ridge's po ...
, of
breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...
and
leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...
, possibly as the result of her work with radioactive materials, on April 17, 1961. Anderson was buried at Green Lake Cemetery in
Green Lake, Wisconsin Green Lake is a city in and county seat of Green Lake County, Wisconsin, United States. The city had a population of 1,001 in the 2020 census. It is located on the north side of Green Lake. The Town of Green Lake is located on the south side o ...
. She was survived by her sister, Lucille McConnell and niece, Natalie Tarr Millemann. Dr. Anderson's obituary was well covered in the press and scientific journals. Tributes were written by colleagues and former students.Kathren, Ronald L. and Tarr, Natalie E. (November 1974). "The Origins of the Health Physics Society". ''Health Physics''. 27(5): 419–428. Anderson is honored each year at the annual meeting of the Health Physics Society when the Elda E. Anderson Award is presented to a young member of the Society.


Select publications

*Ph.D. Dissertation: Anderson, Elda E. (1941). Low Energy Levels in the Atomic Spectra of Cobalt VII and Nickel VIII. University of Wisconsin—Madison. *Mack, J. E., & Anderson, E. E. (1944). "A 21‐Foot Multiple Range Grazing Incidence Spectrograph". ''Review of Scientific Instruments''. 15(2): 28–36. *Anderson, E. E., Lavatelli, L. S., McDaniel, B. D., & Sutton, R. B. (1944). Boron cross sections for neutrons from 0.01 to 1000 eV. Atomic Energy Commission. *Anderson, E. E., Lavatelli, L. S., McDaniel, B. D., & Sutton, R. B. (1944). MEASUREMENTS ON THE CROSS-SECTION OF 94 Pu-239 AS A FUNCTION OF NEUTRON ENERGY IN THE RANGE FROM 0.01 eV TO 3.0 eV (No. LA-91). Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory. New Mexico. *Anderson, E. E., McDaniel, B. D., Sutton, R. B., & Lavatelli, L. S. (1945). ABSORPTION AND FISSION CROSS SECTIONS OF 94 Pu-239 IN THE NEUTRON ENERGY RANGE 0.01 eV TO 100 eV (No. LA-266). Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory. New Mexico. *Sutton, R. B., McDaniel, B. D., Anderson, E. E., & Lavatelli, L. S. (1947). "The Capture Cross Section of Boron for Neutrons of Energies from 0.01 eV to 1000 eV". ''Physical Review''. 71(4): 272. *McDaniel, B. D., Sutton, R. B., Lavatelli, L. S., & Anderson, E. E. (1947). "The Absorption Cross Section of Gold for Neutrons of Energies from 0.01 to 0.3 eV". ''Physical Review''. 72(8): 729. *Sutton, R. B., T. Hall, E. E. Anderson, H. S. Bridge, J. W. DeWire, L. S. Lavatelli, E. A. Long, T. Snyder, and R. W. Williams. (1947). "Scattering of Slow Neutrons by Ortho- and Parahydrogen". ''Physical Review''. 72(12): 1147. *Sutton, R. B., T. Hall, E. E. Anderson, H. S. Bridge, J. W. DeWire, L. S. Lavatelli, E. A. Long, T. Snyder, and R. W. Williams. (1947). "
Neutron diffraction Neutron diffraction or elastic neutron scattering is the application of neutron scattering to the determination of the atomic and/or magnetic structure of a material. A sample to be examined is placed in a beam of Neutron temperature, thermal or ...
studies of NaH and NaD". ''Physical Review''. 72: 1147–56. *Anderson, Elda E. (1950). Manual on Radiological Protection for Civilian Defense (No. M-4514). Oak Ridge National Laboratory. *Anderson, E. E. (1952). "Units of radiation and radioactivity". ''Public Health Reports''. 67(3): 293. *Anderson, E. E. (1954). "Education and Training of Health Physicists". ''Radiology''. 62(1): 83–87. *Lukens Jr, H. R., Anderson, E. E., & Beaufait Jr, L. J. (1954). "Punched Card System for Radioisotopes". ''Analytical Chemistry''. 26(4): 651–652. *Kohl, J., Newacheck, R. L., & Anderson, E. E. (1955). "Gaseous and Liquid Tracers for Underground Studies". In Proceedings. University of California. *Kohl, J., Newacheck, R. L., & Anderson, E. E. (1955). "Locating Casing Shoe Leaks with Radioactive Argon". ''Transactions of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers''. 204(12): 213–216. *Newacheck, R. L., Beaufait, L. J., & Anderson, E. E. (1957). "Isotope Milker Supplies 137Ba from Parent 137Cs". ''Nucleonics''. 15(5): 122. *Beaufait Jr, L. J., Anderson, E. E., & Peterson, J. P. (1958). "Development and Preparation of Set of Gamma Spectrometer Standards". ''Analytical Chemistry''. 30(11): 1762–1764. *Anderson, Elda E. (1959). Assignment report on training course for health physicists. Bombay, India. November–December 1958. *Zumwalt, L. R., & Anderson, Elda E. (1960). Xe-133 Release Data Obtained to Date on Various Sample Fuel Bodies (No. GA-P-32-257). General Atomic Division. General Dynamics Corp. San Diego, CA. *Anderson, E. E., Gethard, P. E., & Zumwalt, L. R. (October 1961). "Use of the King Furnace in Fission-Product Retention Studies of Graphite Reactor Fuels". In ''Proceedings of the Second Conference on Nuclear Reactor Chemistry''. Gatlinburg, Tennessee (pp. 171–192). *Anderson, E. E., Gethard, P. E., & Zumwalt, L. R. (1962). "Steady-State Release Fraction of Krypton and Xenon Fission Products at High Temperatures from (U, Th) C2-Graphite Fuel Matrix in Out-Of-Pile Experiments (No. GA-3211)". General Atomic Div. General Dynamics Corp. San Diego, CA. *Zumwalt, L. R., Anderson, E. E., & Gethard, P. E. (1962). "Fission Product Retention Characteristics of Certain (Th, U) C2-Graphite Fuels". ''Proceedings. ANS Topical Meeting on Materials and Fuels for High-Temperature Nuclear Energy Applications''. 11–13. *Anderson, E. E., Wessman, G. L., & Zumwalt, L. R. (1962). "Fission Product Trapping—Sorption of Cesium by Activated Charcoal". ''Nuclear Science and Engineering''. 12(1): 106–110. *Zumwalt, L. R., Gethard, P. E., & Anderson, E. E. (1963). "Fission-Product Release from 'Single-Crystal' UC2 Particles". ''Transactions of the American Nuclear Society''. 6(1): 132. *Anderson, E. E., Gardner, J. O., Gethard, P. E., Goeddel, W. V., Hooker, J. R., Lonsdale, H. K., ... & Zumwalt, L. R. (1963). Advanced, Graphite-Matrix, Dispersion-Type Fuel Systems. Annual Report. April 1, 1962 – March 31, 1963 (No. GA-4022;(Pt. 1)). General Atomic Division. General Dynamics Corp. San Diego, CA. *Anderson, Elda E., & Zumwalt, L. R. (1964). "The Diffusion of Barium in Simulated High-Temperature Graphite Fuel Elements". ''Transactions of the American Nuclear Society''(US). 7.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Elda Emma 1899 births 1961 deaths 20th-century American physicists 20th-century women physicists American medical physicists Deaths from breast cancer in Tennessee Deaths from leukemia in Tennessee Health physicists Health Physics Society Los Alamos National Laboratory personnel Manhattan Project people Milwaukee-Downer College faculty Nuclear weapons scientists and engineers Oak Ridge National Laboratory people People from Estherville, Iowa People from Green Lake, Wisconsin Princeton University people Ripon College (Wisconsin) alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni Women on the Manhattan Project