Thora Margraff Plitt Hardy (31 July 1902 – 1 January 1993) was a US chemist born in Switzerland. She was educated at

Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...

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 ...

, from where she graduated in 1925. Afterwards she worked as a New York City high school teacher from 1925 to 1929. She returned to academia at 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 ...

to start her PhD studies in 1932. Following completion of her PhD in 1935 she worked for a time as a botany instructor but saw little opportunity to progress. Subsequently she worked with the US Government, first with 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 ...

and then at the

Department of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

(USDA) until she left in 1951. Her work focussed on plant microchemistry and the physiology and microscopic analysis of commercial furs. She assisted with Second World War efforts when she was requested to apply her studies of fur fibres for the armed forces. She wrote several books including ''Microscopic Methods Used in Identifying Commercial Fibres'' published in 1939. A cash award is made available at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

by an endowment established by Thora Hardy in memory of her husband, John I. Hardy. The award is bestowed on an undergraduate to recognize their academic achievements, the quality of their independent research projects, and their extracurricular contributions.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardy, Thora 1902 births 1993 deaths 20th-century American chemists Barnard College alumni University of Chicago alumni