Leona Woods Marshall Libby, Ph.D. :::
Leona Woods Marshall Libby, Ph.D.
Graduated in 1934
Inducted in 1993
A 1934 graduate, Dr. Libby received her Bachelor of Science degree and her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1938 and 1943 respectively. Dr. Libby was the first and only woman member of the group that built the first nuclear reactor. During her time at University of Chicago, Dr. Libby was a Joint Fellow in the Chemistry and Physics departments from 1941-43. She was a consulting physicist for E.I. du Pont du Nemours & Co. from 1944-46. In 1946 Dr. Libby was named a Fellow in the Institute for Nuclear Studies when she obtained the position of research associate in 1947, which she held until 1954. As assistant professor for Nuclear Studies at the University of Chicago, Dr. Libby was a Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton from 1957-58 and a visiting scientist at the Brookhaven Laboratory in Upton, New York. In 1960 Dr. Libby became an associate professor at New York University. She stayed at New York University as a professor of Physics until 1964 when she moved to Colorado to become a professor of Physics at Colorado University until 1973. Dr. Libby then went to University of California at Los Angeles where she was an adjunct professor of Environmental Studies, Engineering, Engineering Archaeology, Mechanical Aerospace and Nuclear Engineering. Dr. Libby Wrote the book The Uranium People. Dr. Libby was widely traveled and served as a lecturer until her death on Nov. 14, 1986.