Willie Hobbs Moore: the First African-American Woman Physics Ph.D.

Willie Hobbs Moore became the first African-American woman to receive a PhD in Physics from a U.S. university in 1972. In 1958 and 1961, she earned her BSEE and MSEE degrees from the University of Michigan, making her the first African-American woman to receive electrical engineer degrees from UMich. After her master's degree, she held several engineering positions before returning to the University of Michigan to obtain her PhD in physics. The presentation will provide a brief overview of her engineering career and her dissertation research into secondary chlorides in PVC. Additionally, we will discuss her post-graduate work on biological macromolecules and subsequent industrial career. We will discuss her impact on the American automotive industry, followed by a discussion of her mentoring and community involvement. To conclude, I would like to share my great fortune of having befriended her during my graduate school years.