Elda Emma Anderson

Elda Emma Anderson was an American physicist and health researcher. During World War II, she worked on the Manhattan Project at Princeton University and the Los Alamos Laboratory, where she prepared the first sample of pure uranium235 at the laboratory. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, she became professor of physics at MilwaukeeDowner College in 1929. After the war, she became interested in health physics. She worked in the Health Physics Division of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and established the professional certification agency known as the American Board of Health Physics.

Elda Emma Anderson was born in Green Lake, Wisconsin, on October 5, 1899, to Edwin A. Anderson and his wife, Lena . Elda was one of three siblings. Although she was captivated by numbers at an early age, young Elda actually sought to become a kindergarten teacher. This would shift to an interest in science later, partially due to the influence of her older sister, who was an assistant chemistry instructor. As a whole, although her family had certain lofty expectations for their younger daughter, they all supported her in her academic endeavors. Anderson earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ripon College in 1922, then a master of arts in physics from the University of Wisconsin in 1924. From 1924 to 1927, she taught at Estherville Junior College in Iowa, where she was the dean of physics, chemistry and mathematics. In 1929, she became professor of physics at MilwaukeeDowner College, then head of the physics department in 1934.

Source: Wikipedia