Mildred Cohn

A tenacious advocate

1913–2009; APS 1972
Biochemist

“My career has been affected at every stage by the fact that I am a woman.”

photograph of Cohn — Mildred Cohn in the laboratory, about 1980. University of Pennsylvania, University Archives Image Collection.

— Mildred Cohn

1913 Born in New York City, daughter of Russian Jewish immigrants
1928 At age 15, begins studying chemistry at Hunter College in New York City; graduates in 1931
1932 Earns chemistry master’s degree, Columbia University, New York City
1937 At age 24, is the first woman to earn a chemistry Ph.D. from Columbia, working in Harold Urey’s lab
1938 Marries theoretical physicist Henry Primakoff; they will have three children
1946 Follows Primakoff to Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri; works as a research associate for Gerty and Carl Cori
1958 Continues her work in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) as associate professor of biochemistry at Washington University
1960 Becomes associate professor at University of Pennsylvania (Penn) in Philadelphia
1961 Promoted to full professor at Penn at age 48
1971 Chairs faculty committee on the status of women at Penn; advocates for more representation and better treatment of women and people of color in academia
1972 Becomes a Member of the American Philosophical Society
1982 Retires from Penn and is awarded the National Medal of Science
1982–1985 Does research at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia as a senior scientist
2009 Dies at age 96

Pushing for equality

As a young, Jewish female scientist, Mildred Cohn struggled to find work. Job postings for chemical companies specified “male, Christian” applicants only.

While her husband was a professor, she worked as a research associate and raised their three children.

After Cohn finally became a full professor at age 48, she used her influence to improve opportunities for women and people of color.

Letter of promotion

University of Pennsylvania, 1961

Notes for lecture on women in science, page 1

Mildred Cohn, about 1989

“Affirmative Action Retention” memo, page 4

University of Pennsylvania, 1970s

“Women Faculty in the University of Pennsylvania: Part One,” page 1

1971

Rose Mooney-Slater

Probing the invisible

1902–1981
Physicist & crystallographer

Photograph of Mooney-Slater — Portrait of Rose Mooney-Slater, undated. American Institute of Physics, AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives, Physics Today Collection.

“No use to speculate further, I suppose; but it is fun.”
— Rose C. L. Mooney, 1935

1902 Born Rose Camille LeDieu in New Orleans, Louisiana
About 1922 Marries pharmacist Carroll E. Mooney; they would divorce in 1945
1926 Receives a B.S. in physics from Sophie Newcomb College, the women’s college of Tulane University in New Orleans
1930 Is accepted to a Ph.D. program at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) as R.C.L. Mooney, but is turned away because the school does not admit women
1932 Earns a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Chicago; she is the first American woman to become an X-ray crystallographer
1933–1952 Teaches physics at Newcomb; becomes full professor and department chair in 1941
1938 Is elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society at age 36
1939 Receives a Guggenheim Fellowship for research in the Netherlands, but World War II cuts her trip short
1943–1944 Works on the Manhattan Project, studying uranium and plutonium at a U.S. government lab at the University of Chicago
1940s Continues to research radioactive compounds for the U.S. government during the summers
1952 Becomes a senior physicist at the National Bureau of Standards
1954 Marries John Clarke Slater, physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
1956–1966 Works at MIT as a research physicist
1965 The couple move to the University of Florida for positions as research professors
1981 Mooney-Slater dies at age 79

Notebook, University of Chicago

Rose C. L. Mooney, 1931

Rose C. L. Mooney’s diary from Europe

1939

Pin from the 6th Congress of the International Union of Crystallography (IUC)

1963, with name misspelled

Hexagonal Space Group

Rebecca Kamen, acrylic on mylar, fiberglass rods, 2023

A Focus on Structure

Scientists use X-ray crystallography to analyze the atomic structures of matter. This knowledge has led to discoveries in biology, medicine, and technology.

Rose Mooney-Slater’s colleagues admired her skills in this difficult and demanding technique. She focused on phosphate compounds, publishing dozens of papers on her research.