February 11th is the annual observation of International Day of Women and Girls in Science!  It's not only a named day, but also an annual UN assembly working toward "equality in science, technology, and innovation". February is also Black History Month, so I want to highlight some pioneering scientists whose legacies are especially important to us folks in DEEPS.

 

Dr. Marguerite Thomas Williams was the first Black scholar to receive a Ph.D. in Geology in the U.S. She completed her 1942 dissertation, The History of Erosion in the Anacostia Drainage Basin, at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Dr. Williams was among the earliest scientists to quantitatively study the negative impact of certain human activities on environmental processes.

 

Dr. Gladys West laid the foundation for GPS by modeling Earth's geoid with unprecedented precision using satellite altimetry. Dr. West actually received her Ph.D. in Public Administration at Virginia Tech in 2000! Until then, she held a Master of Mathematics from Virginia State University. Dr. West's work, including her 1986 technical report Data Processing System Specifications for the Geosat Satellite Radar Altimeter, was genuinely foundational in enabling at least some aspect of nearly every modern geoscientist's work.

 

Dr. Martha (Marty) Gilmore [publications] is actively bringing geoscience toward the stars as a science team member on NASA's DAVINCI and VERITAS missions to Venus. She completed her 1998 dissertation, Tessera terrain on Venus: Style, sequence and duration of deformation at Brown University (a DEEPS alum!!) and is now Wesleyan University's Seney Professor of Geology. Alongside involvement in many NASA missions, Professor Gilmore was the PI of a Venus flagship mission concept study for the 2023 planetary science decadal survey.