Esther M. Conwell

Biography

Abstract

Esther Conwell made many scientific contributions to semiconductor research. She worked as an industrial scientist for many years at GTE Laboratories (1952-1972) and Xerox (1972-1998). Her institutional affiliations included University of Rochester and University of Chicago.

Important Dates

May 23, 1922Birth, New York (N.Y.).

1942Obtained BA, Brooklyn College, New York (N.Y.).

1945Obtained MS, University of Rochester, Rochester (N.Y.).

1945 – 1951Instructor in Physics, Brooklyn College, New York (N.Y.).

1948Obtained PhD in Physics, University of Chicago, Chicago (Ill.).

1951 – 1952Member, Technical Staff, Bell Telephone Laboratories.

1952 – 1972Engineering Specialist (1952-1963) and Manager, Physics Department (1963-1972), GTE Laboratories, Stamford (Conn.).

1962 – 1963Visiting Professor, École Normale Supérieure.

1972 – 1973Abby Rockefeller Mauze Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

1972 – 1998Principal Scientist (1972-1981); Manager, Electrooptics Program (1975-1977); and Research Fellow (1981-1998), Xerox Corporation, Norwalk (Conn.).

1980Member, National Academy of Engineering.

1990Member, National Academy of Sciences.

1990 – 1998Adjunct Professor, University of Rochester, Rochester (N.Y.).

1992Fellow, American Academy of Arts of Sciences.

1998 – 2014Research Professor of Chemistry and Physics, University of Rochester, Rochester (N.Y.).

2009Awarded National Medal of Science.

November 16, 2014Death, Rochester (N.Y.).

Occupation

Solid state physicist and chemist.

Places

Birth

New York (N.Y.)

Undergraduate Education

New York (N.Y.)

Graduate Education

Rochester (N.Y.)

Chicago (Ill.)

Employment

New York (N.Y.)

Stamford (Conn.)

Norwalk (Conn.)

Rochester (N.Y.)

Death

Rochester (N.Y.)

Subjects

Crystals.

DNA.

Electromagnetic fields.

Germanium.

Microwave detectors.

Science and industry.

Solid state chemistry.

Solid state physics.

Relationships

People

Family

Rothberg, Abraham

Husband.

Rothberg, Lewis Josiah

Son.

Advisors & Collaborators

Shockley, William, 1910-1989

Post-doctorate advisor at Bell Laboratories and both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Weisskopf, Victor Frederick, 1908-2002

Research advisor at University of Rochester.

Colleagues

Anderson, P. W. (Philip W.), 1923-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Ashkin, Arthur, 1922-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Bardeen, John

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Bode, Hendrik W. (Hendrik Wade), 1905-1982

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Brattain, Walter H. (Walter Houser), 1902-1987

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Buckley, Oliver Ellsworth, 1887-1959

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Clogston, Albert McCavour

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Cutler, Cassius Chapin

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Darlington, Sidney, 1906-1997

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

David, Edward E.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Hagstrum, Homer D.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Herring, William Conyers, 1914-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Kelly, Mervin Joe

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Kittel, Charles

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Kraichnan, Robert H., 1928-2008

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Lander, James J., 1914-1996

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Mandel, Leonard

Both employed at University of Rochester.

Schawlow, Arthur L., 1921-1999

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Suhl, Harry

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Additional

Apker, LeRoy Woodard

Fellow graduate students at University of Rochester.

Chandrasekhar, S. (Subrahmanyan), 1910-1995

Duke, Charles B.

Johnson, Vivian A. (Vivian Annabelle), 1912-

Schrieffer, J. R. (John Robert), 1931-

Institutions

Major Positions

Bell Telephone Laboratories

Member, Technical Staff.

Brooklyn College. Department of Physics

Obtained B.A. in 1942. Instructor in Physics.

École normale supérieure (France)

Visiting Professor.

GTE Corporation

Engineering Specialist and Manager, Physics Department.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics

Abby Rockefeller Mauze Professor.

University of Rochester. Department of Chemistry

Research Professor of Chemistry.

University of Rochester. Department of Physics and Astronomy

Obtained MS in 1945. Adjunct Professor and Research Professor of Physics.

Xerox Corporation

Principal Scientist; Manager, Electrooptics Program; and Research Fellow.

Professional Activities & Affiliations

American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Fellow.

Columbia University. Department of Physics

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Fellow.

National Academy of Engineering

Member.

National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)

Member.

University of Chicago. Department of Physics

Obtained Ph.D. in 1948.

Resources

Archival Resources

Author

Bell Telephone Laboratories the physics of transistors and semiconductors, 1953.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Esther Conwell, 2007 January 22.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Esther M. Conwell, 1983 March 22.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Subject

Oral history interview with Vivian Annabelle Johnson, 1981 July 13.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Published Resources

Subject

Biography of Esther Conwell from IEEE.

Contributions of 20th century women to physics [online resource], 1900-1976.

Esther Conwell (1922-), in Out of the Shadows: Contributions of Twentieth-Century Women to Physics, ed. Nina Byers and Gary Williams (New York: Cambridge University Press: 2006), 315-323

Esther Marly Conwell Physics Today obituary.