Nora Mohler Explained

Nora Mohler
Birth Date:	1898
Birth Place:	Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Death Date:	November 29, 1984
Occupation:	Physicist

Nora May Mohler (1898^[1] – November 29, 1984^[2]) was an American physicist, elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 1941.^{[3] [4]}

Biography

Born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania,^[5] she was the daughter of John Frederick Mohler, a mathematician and physicist at Dickinson College and his wife Sarah Loomis Mohler.^[6] Mohler attended Conway Hall Preparatory School in Carlisle, graduating as class valedictorian; she was the last girl to attend the school, which subsequently became an all-boys institution.^{[7] [8]} She went on to earn a bachelor's degree in 1917 from Dickinson College, and then undertook graduate studies at Bryn Mawr, where she was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.^{[9] [10]}

After studying at Bryn Mawr and Radcliffe College, Mohler held teaching positions. She joined the faculty of Smith College as an instructor in 1927,^{[11] [12]} then began research work under the supervision of Gladys Anslow,^[13] earning a PhD in 1934.^[14] This was the first PhD in physics that Smith had ever awarded. She attained the status of associate professor of physics by 1937; that year and the following, she conducted research at the Cavendish Laboratory. From 1943 to 1946, she took a leave from Smith^[15] to do wartime research at the MIT Radiation Laboratory and for the National Defense Research Committee. She became chair of Smith's physics department in 1946. In 1950, Dickinson awarded her an Honorary Doctorate of Science.^{[16] [17]}

In 1951, Mohler was elected Vice-Chair of the American Physical Society's New England section.^[18] From 1953 through 1957, she served on the advisory board of the American Journal of Physics.^[19]

Selected publications

• Nora M. . Mohler . A fused quartz Féry prism . . 73 . 1895 . 1931-04-24 . 452–453 . 10.1126/science.73.1895.452-a . 17810894 . 1931Sci....73..452M . 35939998 .
• Marjorie . Nicolson . Nora M. . Mohler . The scientific background of Swift's Voyage to Laputa . . 2 . 3 . 1937 . 299–334 . 10.1080/00033793700200611. (Described in Nature as "a very interesting study of Swift's Voyage to Laputa, in which they show how carefully Swift read the contemporary scientific literature and how skilfully he was able to make use of it in his own writings".^[20])
• Nora M. . Mohler . John R. . Loofbourow . Optical filters . . 20 . 8 . 499 . 1952 . 10.1119/1.1933302. 1952AmJPh..20..499M .

External links

• Dickinsonian, June 10, 1915
• Annual Report of the Secretary of the Optical Society of America for the Calendar Year 1936
• John Mohler's obituary
• The Smith Alumnae Quarterly
• Annual Register of the Alumnae Association of Smith College
• Newton Demands the Muse: Newton's Opticks and the Eighteenth Century Poets
• American Men of Science

Notes and References

1. Book: Who's who in Pennsylvania: A Biographical Dictionary of Contemporaries. 1908. en.
2. 1985-05-10. Obituaries. Science. en. 228. 4700. 758. 10.1126/science.228.4700.758. 17841007. 0036-8075. free.
3. Web site: APS Fellow Archive . . 2020-08-23.
4. Anonymous. 1942-01-01. Minutes of the Chicago, Illinois, Meeting November 21-22, 1941. Physical Review. en. 61. 1–2. 101–107. 10.1103/PhysRev.61.101.2. 0031-899X.
5. News: 1984-12-03. Nora May Mohler. 4. The Sentinel. 2020-08-25. Newspapers.com.
6. Web site: Collection Register: Mohler, Fred Loomis (1983–1974) . . 2020-08-24.
7. News: 1913-05-28. Carlisle girl, last Conway Hall co-ed class valedictorian. 1. Carlisle Evening Herald. 2020-08-25. Newspapers.com.
8. News: 1913-05-29. Last girl valedictorian. 3. Public Opinion. 2020-08-25. Newspapers.com.
9. Web site: Bryn Mawr College Annual Report, 1917–18 . . 2020-08-24.
10. Book: The Arrow of Pi Beta Phi. 1918. Pi Beta Phi Fraternity. en.
11. News: 1954-05-23. Smith Alumnae List Speakers. Lansing State Journal. 2020-08-24.
12. Book: Annual Report of the President of Smith College. 1962. en.
13. Book: Grinstein. Louise S.. Women in Chemistry and Physics: A Biobibliographic Sourcebook. Rose. Rose K.. Rafailovich. Miriam H.. 1993. Greenwood Press. 978-0-313-27382-7. en.
14. News: May 1950. Honor Mohler Family at Founders' Day Exercises. The Dickinson Alumnus. 2020-08-24.
15. News: 1951-10-22. County Smith Club to Hear Talk by Physics Professor. 7. The Berkshire Eagle. 2020-08-25. Newspapers.com.
16. Web site: Mohler Nora C1. 2020-08-24. American Institute of Physics.
17. News: 1950-04-28. Celebration of Founding Here Thurs.: Convocation in Bosler to Feature Speech, Awarding of Degrees. The Dickinsonian. 2020-08-24.
18. Anonymous. 1951-04-01. Proceedings of the American Physical Society. Physical Review. en. 82. 1. 129–130. 10.1103/PhysRev.82.129. 1951PhRv...82..129.. 0031-899X.
19. Web site: AJP Advisory Board . . 2020-08-23.
20. History of Science . . 10.1038/1401089b0 . 140 . 1089 . 1937. 1089 . 1937Natur.140R1089. . free .