Bear, Isabel Joy - Bright Sparcs Biographical entry

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Bear, Isabel Joy (1927 - )

AM, FRACI

Online Sources

Published Sources

Mineral chemist

Born: 4 January 1927 Camperdown, Victoria, Australia

Isabel Joy Bear discovered a number of previously unknown metastable zirconium sulfate hydrates while working at the CSIRO Division of Mineral Chemistry in the early 1960s. In 1967 Bear was promoted to the research staff of the division, notably she was the first and only woman to be appointed to research ranks of the Division of Mineral Chemistry. Bear was appointed Member of the Order of Australia, 26 January 1986, for services to science, particularly in the field of mineral chemistry. In 1988 she was the first woman to be awarded the Leighton Medal by the Royal Australian Chemical Institute. Bear co-authored Alumina to Zirconia: The History of the CSIRO Division of Mineral Chemistry. In 2005 Bear was part of a team compiling the history of the CSIRO Division of Chemical Engineering.

Career Highlights

Chronology
1944 - 1950 Junior Laboratory Assistant in the minerals utilization section of the Division of Industrial Chemistry at CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research)/CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation)
1950 - 1951 Experimental Scientist at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment in Harwell, UK
1951 - 1953 Research Assistant at Birmingham University, UK
1953 - 1959 Experimental Officer in the Minerals Utilization Section of the Division of Industrial Chemistry at the CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation)
1959 - 1967 Experimental Officer at the Division of Mineral Chemistry at CSIRO
1967 Senior Research Scientist at the Division of Mineral Chemistry at CSIRO
1972 Principal Research Scientist in the Division of Mineral Chemistry at CSIRO
1979 - 1992 Senior Principal Research Scientist in the Division of Mineral Chemistry at CSIRO
1986 Member of the Order of Australia (AM)
1988 Leighton Memorial Medal received from the Royal Australian Chemical Institute
1992 Retired
1992 - 1997 Honorary Fellow of the Division of Minerals, CSIRO
2001 Alumina to Zirconia (with Tom Biegler and Tom Scott) published by CSIRO
2005 Inducted into the Victorian Honour Roll of Women

Online Sources

Published Sources

O'Neil, 'Isabel Joy Bear: a Biographical Note', WISENET Journal, vol. 60, July, 2002, http://www.wisenet-australia.org/issue60/isabel_bear.htm. [ Details ]

Structure based on ISAAR(CPF) - click here for an explanation of the fields.

Prepared by: Ailie Smith
Created: 10 February 2003
Modified: 12 September 2006

Published by The University of Melbourne eScholarship Research Centre on ASAPWeb, 1994 - 2007
Originally published 1994-1999 by Australian Science Archives Project, 1999-2006 by the Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre
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Prepared by: Acknowledgements
Updated: 26 February 2007
http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/biogs/P004169b.htm

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