#Bryn mawr college rankings physics professional

These findings existed outside the existing framework of geology at the time, and, as such, Bascom helped move the field forward substantially.Īfter obtaining her Ph.D., Bascom remained in higher education. More specifically, her work revealed that layers previously identified as forming through the deposition of sediments were actually former lava flows.īascom further argued that the rocks had metamorphosed - the geologic process of changing a rock’s composition through heat and pressure - and developed new nomenclature and terminology for the field to describe them. Her research on South Mountain, Pennsylvania described how its rock layers changed over time. Petrography is a geologic discipline that is concerned with describing the composition of rocks, with a focus on their structure and mineralogic composition. in geology in the United States of America.īascom’s dissertation also contributed to the fledgling field of petrography, which she first became interested in during her Master’s studies. from Johns Hopkins, and the second woman to ever receive a Ph.D. Despite this discrimination, she was also able to conduct field work for the first time in her career to support her dissertation research.Īfter completing her coursework and dissertation requirements in 1893, Bascom was the first woman to receive a Ph.D. Adding insult to injury, Bascom was expected to sit behind a screen during her classes at Johns Hopkins, out of view of the male students. programs, but Bascom successfully petitioned for her admission, no doubt inspired by her mother and father. program at Johns Hopkins University in 1889.įirst woman awarded a Johns Hopkins Ph.D.ĭuring this time, the school had not yet allowed women to enter Ph.D. Still interested in continuing her education, she set her sights on the Ph.D. After, she continued her tenure at the University of Wisconsin and obtained a Master’s in geology. In her time at the University of Wisconsin, she obtained two degrees: a Bachelor of Arts and, later, a Bachelor of Science. Given her mother’s feminism, her father’s scholarship, and her aptitude for natural science, it would seem that Bascom’s fate was sealed. Here Bascom had frontline access to nature and local geology. While a thriving educator, John suffered from mental illness, and, to combat it, would take his children on trips to the mountains with a colleague, Edward Orton, a professor of geology at Ohio State University. John Bascom was a rhetoric professor at Williams College, though he allegedly held many degrees in various fields. While her mother was pivotal in Bascom’s eventual decision to further her academic career through higher education, the influence of her father helped her realize her love of geology. Her mother, Emma Curtiss Bascom, was a schoolteacher and staunch advocate for women’s rights, and was heavily involved in the women’s suffrage movement. Her constant fight to be seen as a worthy member of her community paved the way for better representation of women in the field today.īascom was born in Massachusetts in 1862, the youngest of five children.

#Bryn mawr college rankings physics professional

She excelled in her career, mentored female students in the geosciences, and held high-ranking positions in various geology professional societies. She realized from a young age her love for the natural world, and with support from her parents, became the first woman to be awarded a Ph.D.

This statistic is shocking, and illustrates a very clear issue with the geoscience workforce an issue that Florence Bascom was interested in solving.īascom was an American geologist known for her groundbreaking research and championing of women’s rights in the discipline. A survey by The American Geosciences Institute states that only 25% of working geoscientists identify as women.