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Esther M. Conwell

by Susan J. Ainsworth
December 8, 2014 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 92, Issue 49

Conwell
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Photo of Esther M. Conwell.

Esther M. Conwell, 92, a research professor of chemistry at the University of Rochester who received the National Medal of Science in 2010, died in a motor vehicle accident on Nov. 16.

Conwell earned a B.A. in physics from Brooklyn College in 1942 and an M.S. in physics at the University of Rochester in 1945 under Victor Weisskopf. Together they developed the Conwell-Weisskopf formula that shed light on how materials affect the flow of electrons inside transistors and integrated circuits.

She then earned a Ph.D. in physics in 1948 from the University of Chicago, under Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar.

Conwell entered the workforce at a time when women were generally not welcomed into classrooms or laboratories. However, after serving as a physics instructor at Brooklyn College, Conwell carved out a long, successful career in industry and was a trailblazer in the field of semiconductor research. She worked at Bell Telephone Laboratories in 1951 and 1952, after which she went to GTE Laboratories. In 1972, she moved to Xerox.

She joined the University of Rochester as an adjunct professor in 1990 and then became a full-time professor in the department of chemistry after her retirement from Xerox in 1998. She studied the movement of electrons through DNA, generating many publications based on that work.

“In addition to her own outstanding research contributions, Esther, over her career, mentored many postdoctoral fellows, graduate, and undergraduate students,” said Todd D. Krauss, chair of the University of Rochester’s chemistry department. “More broadly, she has served as an inspiration to women scientists around the globe.”

She received the Senior Scientist Mentor Award from the Camille & Henry Dreyfus Foundation in 2005 and the National Medal of Science from President Barack Obama in 2010.

She was a member of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering. She was a member of ACS for 18 years.

Conwell’s husband, Abraham Rothberg, died in 2011. She is survived by her son, Lewis J. Rothberg, and two grandchildren.

Obituary notices of no more than 300 words may be sent to Susan J. Ainsworth at s_ainsworth@acs.org and should include an educational and professional history.

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