Lucy Weston Pickett (January 19, 1904 – November 23, 1997) was a Mary Lyon Professor and Camille and Henry Dreyfus Chair in Chemistry at Mount Holyoke College.
Lucy Weston Pickett
Lucy Weston Pickett, from the 1925 yearbook of Mount Holyoke College
University of Illinois Royal Institution, London (fellowship 1932–1933) University of Liège and Harvard
Educational Foundation Fellowship (1939)
Employer(s)
Professional experience: Goucher College, instructor (1927–1928)
Mount Holyoke, instructor of chemistry (1930–1935), associate professor (1940–1945), professor of chemistry (1945–1968), chair of Department of Chemistry (1954–1962)
The University of California, visiting professor (1947–1948)
Honours
American Chemical Society, Garvan Medal, 1957; memorialized by Luck Pickett fund, Mount Holyoke (1968)
Pickett was born on January 19, 1904, in Beverly, Massachusetts, to Lucy Weston, a former school teacher and elementary school principal, and George Ernest Pickett, a former seaman. She had one brother, Thomas Austin Pickett, who also became a chemist. Both Lucy and Thomas led similar academic and professional lives, while still holding a close relationship.
Educationedit
Lucy W. Pickett attended high school in Beverly and later entered Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts, in 1921 and graduated in 1925.[2] Lucy planned on majoring in Latin but changed her mind to work in the sciences, having an attraction to chemistry. She double majored in chemistry and mathematics.
In, 1925, Pickett graduated with summa cum laude, both in chemistry, and in mathematics at Mount Holyoke. She continued to a master's degree in two years before moving to the University of Illinois, where she studied for her doctoral degree. Lucy earned a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois majoring in analytical chemistry with minors in both physical chemistry and physics. Her dissertation research explored the effects of X-rays on chemical reactions and the X-ray structures of organic compounds.[2]
Careeredit
Pickett taught at Illinois and Goucher College before returning to Mount Holyoke in 1930. She would stay there until she retired in 1968. During her 1932–1933 leave she worked with the famous X-ray crystallographer and Nobel laureate Sir William Bragg at the Royal Institution, London. In 1939, on an Educational Foundation Fellowship she worked with Victor Henri at University of Liège, Belgium, and with George Kistiakowsky at Harvard.
As much as Lucy would have liked to have continued her work in X-ray crystallography, she returned to Mount Holyoke College to join in an active team of researchers, including Emma Perry Carr and Mary Sherrill, who were investigating molecular structures through spectroscopy. In 1939, Pickett went to Belgium to the University of Liege, where she began her work with spectroscopist, Victor Henri, and in the same year, to Harvard to work with molecular spectroscopist, George Kistiakowsky. In 1942, Pickett and Carr traveled to Chicago to attend a conference on spectroscopy organized by Robert S. Mulliken. Lucy worked with Milliken in 1952 on theoretical interpretations of the spectrum of the benzenium ion.[2]
Her colleagues and students created The Lucy Pickett Lectureship, a lectureship designed to bring outstanding speakers to the Mount Holyoke campus. The first speaker was Robert Mulliken, 1966 Chemistry Nobel laureate, with whom Pickett had published a paper in 1954. In the 1970s, Pickett requested that the funds be used to honor women scientists.[2]
Publicationsedit
The effect of X-rays on chemical reactions...An X-ray study of the structure of organic compounds.
Honorary D.Sc. from Mount Holyoke College in 1975[2]
Upon her retirement, colleagues, students, and friends honored Pickett's many contributions to Mount Holyoke by establishing a lectureship in her name. The chemistry department's Lucy W. Pickett annual lecture series, which brings outstanding women scientist to campus, continues to this day.[4]
In 1975, awarded the honorary doctor of science
Referencesedit
^"Lucy Picket". Mount Holyoke College. Retrieved March 7, 2014.
^ abcdefShearer, Benjamin F.; Shearer, Barbara Smith, eds. (1997). "Lucy Weston Pickett". Notable Women in the Physical Sciences: A Biographical Dictionary (1st ed.). Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 311–314. ISBN978-0-313-29303-0.
^"Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter P" (PDF). American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
^"Mount Holyoke College". Mount Holyoke College. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
Further readingedit
Fleck, George. "Lucy Weston Pickett," in Women in Chemistry and Physics: A Biobibliographic Sourcebook. Edited by L.S. Grinstein, R.K. Rose, and M. Rafailovich. Westport, Conn., Greenwood Press, 1993.
External linksedit
January 01, 1970
lucy, weston, pickett, this, article, includes, list, general, references, lacks, sufficient, corresponding, inline, citations, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, more, precise, citations, october, 2009, learn, when, remove, this, message, janu. This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations October 2009 Learn how and when to remove this message Lucy Weston Pickett January 19 1904 November 23 1997 was a Mary Lyon Professor and Camille and Henry Dreyfus Chair in Chemistry at Mount Holyoke College Lucy Weston PickettLucy Weston Pickett from the 1925 yearbook of Mount Holyoke CollegeBorn 1904 01 19 January 19 1904Beverly MassachusettsDiedNovember 23 1997 1997 11 23 aged 93 Bradenton FloridaEducationMount Holyoke College class of 1925 University of Illinois Royal Institution London fellowship 1932 1933 University of Liege and Harvard Educational Foundation Fellowship 1939 Employer s Professional experience Goucher College instructor 1927 1928 Mount Holyoke instructor of chemistry 1930 1935 associate professor 1940 1945 professor of chemistry 1945 1968 chair of Department of Chemistry 1954 1962 The University of California visiting professor 1947 1948 HonoursAmerican Chemical Society Garvan Medal 1957 memorialized by Luck Pickett fund Mount Holyoke 1968 Mount Holyoke College Mary Lyon Hall Her research on X ray crystallography and ultraviolet absorption spectroscopy of organic molecules received numerous honors and was supported by grants from the Office of Naval Research the National Science Foundation and the Petroleum Research Fund of the American Chemical Society 1 Contents 1 Early life 2 Education 3 Career 4 Publications 5 Honors and awards 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External linksEarly life editPickett was born on January 19 1904 in Beverly Massachusetts to Lucy Weston a former school teacher and elementary school principal and George Ernest Pickett a former seaman She had one brother Thomas Austin Pickett who also became a chemist Both Lucy and Thomas led similar academic and professional lives while still holding a close relationship Education editLucy W Pickett attended high school in Beverly and later entered Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley Massachusetts in 1921 and graduated in 1925 2 Lucy planned on majoring in Latin but changed her mind to work in the sciences having an attraction to chemistry She double majored in chemistry and mathematics In 1925 Pickett graduated with summa cum laude both in chemistry and in mathematics at Mount Holyoke She continued to a master s degree in two years before moving to the University of Illinois where she studied for her doctoral degree Lucy earned a Ph D from the University of Illinois majoring in analytical chemistry with minors in both physical chemistry and physics Her dissertation research explored the effects of X rays on chemical reactions and the X ray structures of organic compounds 2 Career editPickett taught at Illinois and Goucher College before returning to Mount Holyoke in 1930 She would stay there until she retired in 1968 During her 1932 1933 leave she worked with the famous X ray crystallographer and Nobel laureate Sir William Bragg at the Royal Institution London In 1939 on an Educational Foundation Fellowship she worked with Victor Henri at University of Liege Belgium and with George Kistiakowsky at Harvard As much as Lucy would have liked to have continued her work in X ray crystallography she returned to Mount Holyoke College to join in an active team of researchers including Emma Perry Carr and Mary Sherrill who were investigating molecular structures through spectroscopy In 1939 Pickett went to Belgium to the University of Liege where she began her work with spectroscopist Victor Henri and in the same year to Harvard to work with molecular spectroscopist George Kistiakowsky In 1942 Pickett and Carr traveled to Chicago to attend a conference on spectroscopy organized by Robert S Mulliken Lucy worked with Milliken in 1952 on theoretical interpretations of the spectrum of the benzenium ion 2 Her colleagues and students created The Lucy Pickett Lectureship a lectureship designed to bring outstanding speakers to the Mount Holyoke campus The first speaker was Robert Mulliken 1966 Chemistry Nobel laureate with whom Pickett had published a paper in 1954 In the 1970s Pickett requested that the funds be used to honor women scientists 2 Publications editThe effect of X rays on chemical reactions An X ray study of the structure of organic compounds Honors and awards editFellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1955 3 In 1957 she received the Francis P Garvan Medal from the American Chemical Society for her research in molecular spectroscopy Honorary D Sc from Ripon College in 1958 2 Honorary D Sc from Mount Holyoke College in 1975 2 Upon her retirement colleagues students and friends honored Pickett s many contributions to Mount Holyoke by establishing a lectureship in her name The chemistry department s Lucy W Pickett annual lecture series which brings outstanding women scientist to campus continues to this day 4 In 1975 awarded the honorary doctor of scienceReferences edit Lucy Picket Mount Holyoke College Retrieved March 7 2014 a b c d e f Shearer Benjamin F Shearer Barbara Smith eds 1997 Lucy Weston Pickett Notable Women in the Physical Sciences A Biographical Dictionary 1st ed Westport Connecticut Greenwood Press pp 311 314 ISBN 978 0 313 29303 0 Book of Members 1780 2010 Chapter P PDF American Academy of Arts and Sciences Retrieved July 22 2014 Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College Retrieved November 28 2017 Further reading editFleck George Lucy Weston Pickett in Women in Chemistry and Physics A Biobibliographic Sourcebook Edited by L S Grinstein R K Rose and M Rafailovich Westport Conn Greenwood Press 1993 External links editObituary MIT Chemist to Deliver Lucy W Pickett Lecture Expert on Cell Surfaces to Deliver Lucy W Pickett Lecture November 20 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lucy Weston Pickett amp oldid 1168142078, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
