Noemie Benczer Koller
Encyclopedia
Noemie Benczer Koller is a nuclear physicist. She was the first tenure
d female professor
of Rutgers College.
, Austria
, Noemie Benczer Koller moved frequently in her early childhood due to the turbulence of war. After escaping occupied France with her family, she attended a French school in Mexico. Upon completing high school, she travelled to New York to receive a college education. At the time, Columbia University did not accept female applicants and Koller was directed to apply to Columbia's sister school, Barnard College
. Barnard gave her two years of credit for the French high school and Koller was able to attain a B.A. in two years, studying American history, math, and physics. She received her M.S. in 1955 and earned her Ph.D. in 1958 in experimental physics from Columbia University
, where she stayed on as a postdoctoral research associate until 1960.
In the fall of 1960, Koller came to Rutgers University, New Brunwsick, NJ. She had married a fellow student, also a physics major, and they both looked to find positions at universities in the vicinity of one another. Her husband took a position at Stevens Institute of Technology
in Hoboken and Koller came to Rutgers, the first woman hired in the Physics department and, also, in 1965, the first tenured female professor of Rutgers College. Mason Gross was president of the university at this time.
At Rutgers she has been a major member of the nuclear physics research group working on the tandem Van de Graaff accelerator, as well as a condensed-matter physicist, performing experiments using the Mössbauer effect
. She was also the Director of the Nuclear Physics Laboratory from 1986 to 1989.
Koller served in the administration of the University as the Associate Dean for Sciences of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences from 1992 to 1996, and was active in the American Physical Society
(APS), serving on many national committees, as well as Chair of the 2,500-member APS Nuclear Physics Division. Koller is a strong supporter of women in science and has contributed a significant amount of research to the physics community internationally.
Tenure
Tenure commonly refers to life tenure in a job and specifically to a senior academic's contractual right not to have his or her position terminated without just cause.-19th century:...
d female professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of Rutgers College.
Biography
Born in ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Noemie Benczer Koller moved frequently in her early childhood due to the turbulence of war. After escaping occupied France with her family, she attended a French school in Mexico. Upon completing high school, she travelled to New York to receive a college education. At the time, Columbia University did not accept female applicants and Koller was directed to apply to Columbia's sister school, Barnard College
Barnard College
Barnard College is a private women's liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900. The campus stretches along Broadway between 116th and 120th Streets in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough...
. Barnard gave her two years of credit for the French high school and Koller was able to attain a B.A. in two years, studying American history, math, and physics. She received her M.S. in 1955 and earned her Ph.D. in 1958 in experimental physics from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, where she stayed on as a postdoctoral research associate until 1960.
In the fall of 1960, Koller came to Rutgers University, New Brunwsick, NJ. She had married a fellow student, also a physics major, and they both looked to find positions at universities in the vicinity of one another. Her husband took a position at Stevens Institute of Technology
Stevens Institute of Technology
Stevens Institute of Technology is a technological university located on a campus in Hoboken, New Jersey, USA – founded in 1870 with an 1868 bequest from Edwin A. Stevens. It is known for its engineering, science, and technological management curricula.The institute has produced leading...
in Hoboken and Koller came to Rutgers, the first woman hired in the Physics department and, also, in 1965, the first tenured female professor of Rutgers College. Mason Gross was president of the university at this time.
At Rutgers she has been a major member of the nuclear physics research group working on the tandem Van de Graaff accelerator, as well as a condensed-matter physicist, performing experiments using the Mössbauer effect
Mössbauer effect
The Mössbauer effect, or recoilless nuclear resonance fluorescence, is a physical phenomenon discovered by Rudolf Mössbauer in 1958. It involves the resonant and recoil-free emission and absorption of γ radiation by atomic nuclei bound in a solid...
. She was also the Director of the Nuclear Physics Laboratory from 1986 to 1989.
Koller served in the administration of the University as the Associate Dean for Sciences of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences from 1992 to 1996, and was active in the American Physical Society
American Physical Society
The American Physical Society is the world's second largest organization of physicists, behind the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. The Society publishes more than a dozen scientific journals, including the world renowned Physical Review and Physical Review Letters, and organizes more than 20...
(APS), serving on many national committees, as well as Chair of the 2,500-member APS Nuclear Physics Division. Koller is a strong supporter of women in science and has contributed a significant amount of research to the physics community internationally.