Lucy Julia Hayner (1898 - September 23, 1971) was a

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 ...

, known for inventing a circular

slide rule A slide rule is a hand-operated mechanical calculator consisting of slidable rulers for conducting mathematical operations such as multiplication, division, exponents, roots, logarithms, and trigonometry. It is one of the simplest analog ...

Braille Braille ( , ) is a Tactile alphabet, tactile writing system used by blindness, blind or visually impaired people. It can be read either on embossed paper or by using refreshable braille displays that connect to computers and smartphone device ...

and for her work in atomic and electron physics.

Career

Hayner was born in 1898 in Haynerville, New York, on a farm which her family had owned since 1742. Hayner attended Barnard College where she was a student of

Margaret Eliza Maltby Margaret Eliza Maltby (December 10, 1860 – May 3, 1944) was an American physicist notable for her measurement of high Electrolyte, electrolytic Electrical resistance and conductance, resistances and the Conductivity (electrolytic), conductivity ...

. She graduated in 1919. She attended graduate school at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, earning her

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 ...

in 1920 and her

Doctor of Philosophy 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 Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

in 1924. She was the fourth woman to earn a Ph.D. in physics from Columbia University. Her dissertation, supervised by Harold W. Webb, was entitled "The Persistence of the Radiation Excited in Mercury Vapor." Following graduation, she studied at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

under the Barnard Fellowship from 1924 to 1925. Upon her return to the United States, Hayner took up a position as a researcher at

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...

where she assisted

Irving Langmuir Irving Langmuir (; January 31, 1881 – August 16, 1957) was an American chemist, physicist, and metallurgical engineer. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1932 for his work in surface chemistry. Langmuir's most famous publicatio ...

. She stayed at General Electric from 1925 to 1928 researching electron emission in

vacuum tubes A vacuum tube, electron tube, thermionic valve (British usage), or tube (North America) is a device that controls electric current flow in a high vacuum between electrodes to which an electric voltage, potential difference has been applied. It ...

. In 1929 Hayner returned to Columbia University. She taught in the Ernest Kempton Adams Laboratory and specialized in teaching the advanced laboratory class. She later directed the laboratory until her retirement in 1966. In 1937, Hayner designed and constructed a circular

. The construction took over 100 hours and the resulting slide rule offered slightly better reading accuracy than the conventional 12-inch straight slide rule in use at the time.

Personal life

Hayner married Bernhard Kurrelmeyer, who was a professor of physics at

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls nearly 14,000 students on a campus in the Midwood and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn as of fall ...

. They frequently collaborated on research and published two papers together on the shot effect. Hayner died in 1971 at Doctors Hospital in New York City.

Publications

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References

External links

Finding aid to the Lucy Julia Hayner papers, 1919-1966 at Columbia University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayner, Lucy Julia 1898 births 1971 deaths American women physicists 20th-century American physicists 20th-century American women scientists Barnard College alumni Columbia University alumni Columbia University faculty