Rose Camille LeDieu Mooney-Slater (23 October 1902 – 21 November 1981) was a professor of physics at the

Newcomb College H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College was the coordinate women's college of Tulane University, located in New Orleans, in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It was founded by Josephine Louise Newcomb in 1886 in memory of her daughter. Newcomb was the ...

of the

Tulane University The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...

and the first female X-ray crystallographer in the United States.

Life

Rose Camille LeDieu was born and raised in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. Mooney-Slater received a B.S. and M.S. in physics from the

of the

in 1926 and 1929, respectively. In 1932, she received a Ph.D. in physics from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

. In 1933, she became a professor of physics at the Newcomb College. She became a

Guggenheim Fellow Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon individuals who have demonstrated d ...

in 1939. In 1941, she was appointed the head of the physics department at Newcomb College. From 1943 to 1944, she worked as a research physicist and

crystallographer A crystallographer is a type of scientist who practices crystallography, in other words, who studies crystals. Career paths The work of crystallographers spans several academic disciplines, including the life sciences, chemistry, physics, and m ...

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 ...

in the Metallurgical Lab at the

. From 1952 to 1956, she worked as a physicist at the

National Bureau of Standards The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce whose mission is to promote American innovation and industrial competitiveness. NIST's activities are organized into physical sc ...

. From 1956 to 1981, she served as a research physicist at

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

. From 1966 to 1974, she taught physics at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

. In 1954 she married fellow physicist John C. Slater. Mooney-Slater died on 21 November 1981.

Awards

She was a Guggenheim Fellow and a fellow of the

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mooney-Slater, Rose American women physicists 1902 births 1981 deaths Fellows of the American Physical Society 20th-century American physicists Tulane University faculty Tulane University alumni University of Chicago alumni University of Florida faculty Massachusetts Institute of Technology staff Manhattan Project people Scientists from New Orleans 20th-century American women scientists 20th-century American women academics