Alice Mary Dowse Weeks
Alice Dowse Weeks, Geologist, operating an ultrasonic generator. Rapid Rock Analysis Laboratory, USGS Geologic Division, Washington, D.C. 1958.
BornAugust 26, 1909
Sherborn, Massachusetts, US
DiedAugust 29, 1988
Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, US
CitizenshipAmerican
EducationTufts University, Harvard University
OccupationGeologist
SpouseAlbert W. Weeks

Alice Mary Dowse Weeks (August 26, 1909 – August 29, 1988) was an American geologist. Weeksite is named after her. She identified uranophane in 1953 along with Mary E. Thompson. Weeks was the first to propose the concept of oxidation of ore deposits that contain uranium, vanadium, and other accessory metals. She founded the Geology Department at Temple University in Philadelphia, and was a strong proponent of women in geology.[1]

Early life and family

Alice Mary Dowse Weeks and her twin sister Eunice were born August 26, 1909, in Sherborn Massachusetts. Alice's mother Jessie Parker Dowse was raised in Uxbridge, Massachusetts and attended Tufts University.[2] Jessie worked as a teacher until marrying Arthur Dowse, who worked as a banker among other occupations. Alice's mother was an advocate for her children's education as well as women's rights and encouraged them to learn at a young age.

Alice married Dr. Albert Weeks, a long-term friend and companion, in May 1950. Albert, a petroleum geologist, encouraged Alice in her career and helped to motivate her to complete her dissertation.[2]

Education

Alice, who was homeschooled in her early years, attended and graduated from Sawin Academy and Dowse High School in 1926.[2] She then attended Tufts University, receiving a degree in science and mathematics and graduating cum laude in 1930.[2] After teaching at the Lancaster school for girls for roughly two and a half years, she returned to Tufts to take several geology courses. Following the end of her time at Tufts, she attended Harvard University in Massachusetts for graduate school, where she received her master's of science degree in 1934.[2] Due to financial instability, and the additional pressures of being a woman in science at Harvard, Weeks was unable to continue working towards her doctorate. Allegedly, she had to sit outside of classrooms for certain lectures that did not permit women to attend.[2] She accepted a Research Fellowship at Bryn Mawr College, Pennsylvania, and after a year began working there as a laboratory instructor. After another year working at Bryn Mawr, Weeks returned to Harvard to continue to work towards her doctorate in 1936.[1]

During this time, Weeks also began working as a professor at Wellesley College, Massachusetts, as a laboratory instructor of historical and physical geology, geomorphology, cartography, and much more.[2] She later became a member of the faculty as an assistant professor. Her knowledge and skill in cartography, as well as being ambidextrous, led to her teaching map-making to Navy officers during World War II.[2] Due to the constraints and rationing that came with the war, it wasn't until 1949 when Weeks was awarded her doctorate.[2]

Career and legacy

Uranium silicate mineral, Weeksite

Weeks' work focused on radioactive deposits, and from 1949 to 1961 she worked for the USGS Uranium Exploration. Weeks was a charter member of the Women Geoscientists Committee of the American Geological Institute, and earned fellowships at the Geological Society of America, the Mineralogical Society of America, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.[3] Weeks later went on to become a professor of mineralogy at Temple University in Philadelphia, where she founded their Geology Department. Weeksite, a uranium silicate mineral, is named after her.[4][5] Weeks is also recognized for identifying uranophane in 1953 along with Mary E. Thompson of the United States Geological Survey, and was the first to propose the concept of oxidation of ore deposits that contain uranium, vanadium, and other accessory metals.[6]

In 1994 the estate of Albert and Alice Weeks established a special endowment at the University of Wisconsin-Madison which supports a Distinguished Professorship and other programs.[7]

Role of women in science

During Weeks' time, women were not widely accepted in the world of geology, and she occasionally was not permitted to attend specific classes, having to sit outside. In order to collect samples from uranium mines, Weeks was forced to dress up as a man to evade the superstition against allowing women to enter mines. As one of the first woman geologists, she was listed in American Men of Science well before it was changed to American Men and Women of Science.[3][8]

Alice Mary Weeks was a member of the Women Geoscientists Committee of the American Geological Institute. [2]

Later life and death

In 1976, Weeks retired from Temple University, and in 1980 the Northeastern Section of the Geological Society of America held a symposium on uranium in her honor. Weeks died on August 27, 1988, following Alzheimer's disease; her sister Eunice also had Alzheimer's.[3]

Contributions

Co-wrote:

  • Mineralogy and Oxidation of the Colorado Plateau Uranium Ores
  • Coconninoite a New Uranium Mineral from Utah and Arizona[9]
  • Navajoite, a New Vanadium Oxide from Arizona [10]
  • Identifiction and Occurrence of Uranium and Vanadium Minerals from the Colorado Plateaus[11]
  • Rabbittite, a new uranyl carbonate from Utah[12]
  • Mineralogy of the zippeite group [13]
  • Grantsite, a new hydrated sodium calcium vanadate from New Mexico, Colorado and Utah [14]
  • Hendersonite, a new calcium vanadyl vanadate from Colorado and New Mexico [15]

References

  1. 1 2 Marilyn Ogilvie; Joy Harvey (2003). The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: Pioneering Lives From Ancient Times to the Mid-20th Century. Routledge. p. 1357. ISBN 978-1-135-96343-9.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Memorial to Alice Mary Dowse Weeks - MARY E. DOWSE" (PDF).
  3. 1 2 3 "Memorial to Alice Mary Dowse Weeks" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-10-10.
  4. ↑ "Handbook of Mineralogy" (PDF). Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  5. ↑ "Weeksite Mineral Data". www.webmineral.com. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  6. ↑ Moore, James Gregory (1963). Geology of the Mount Pinchot Quadrangle, Southern Sierra Nevada, California. U.S. Government Printing Office.
  7. ↑ "History of the Department". Department of Geoscience. University of Wisconsin-Madison. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  8. ↑ Ogilvie, Marilyn Bailey; Harvey, Joy Dorothy (2000). The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: L-Z. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9780415920407.
  9. ↑ "E. J. Young, A. D. Weeks, Robert Meyrowitz; Coconinoite, a new uranium mineral from Utah and Arizona. American Mineralogist 1966;; 51 (5-6): 651–663". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  10. ↑ Weeks, Alice D.; Thompson, Mary E.; Sherwood, Alexander M. (December 1953). Navajoite, a New Vanadium Oxide from Arizona. U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  11. ↑ Weeks, Alice D.; Thompson, M. E. (1954). "Identifiction and Occurrence of Uranium and Vanadium Minerals from the Colorado Plateaus". Geological Survey Bulletin, Department of the Interior. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1009-B.
  12. ↑ "Mary E. Thompson, Alice D. Weeks, Alexander M. Sherwood; Rabbittite, a new uranyl carbonate from Utah. American Mineralogist 1955;; 40 (3-4): 201–206". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  13. ↑ "C. Frondel, J. Ito, R. M. Honea, A. M. Weeks; Mineralogy of the zippeite group. The Canadian Mineralogist 1976;; 14 (4): 429–436. doi:". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  14. ↑ "A. D. Weeks, M. L. Lindberg, A. H. Truesdell, Robert Meyrowitz; Grantsite, a new hydrated sodium calcium vanadate from New Mexico, Colorado and Utah. American Mineralogist 1964; 49 (11-12): 1511–1526". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  15. ↑ "M. L. Lindberg, A. D. Weeks, M. E. Thompson, D. P. Elston, Robert Meyrowitz; Hendersonite, a new calcium vanadyl vanadate from colorado and new mexico. American Mineralogist 1962;; 47 (11-12): 1252–1272". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
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