Bernice Black Durand (28 December 1942 - 7 February 2022) was an American particle physicist and emeritus Professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She was also the emeritus Vice Provost for Diversity and Climate.
Bernice Durand | |
|---|---|
| Born | 28 December 1942 |
| Died | 7 February 2022 (aged 79) |
| Alma mater | Iowa State University |
| Known for | Particle physics |
| Spouse | Loyal Durand |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | University of Wisconsin, Madison |
| Thesis | A point and local position operator (1971) |
| Doctoral students | Ina Šarčević |
Early life and education
editDurand was born in Clarion, Iowa.[1] Her father studied mechanical engineering at Iowa State University and Harvard University, and joined the United States Army Corps of Engineers.[2] She grew up in Ames and attended Radcliffe College, but never finished her course.[1] She eventually completed her bachelor's degree from Iowa State University in 1965.[3] She earned her PhD with a dissertation titled A point and local position operator, in 1971.[4][5][6] She was a member of Sigma Delta Epsilon. From 1992 she has endowed an undergraduate research scholarship at Iowa State University, which provides financial support for a member of an under-represented group to complete a summer project.[1][2] Durand died on February 7, 2022, from complications with Alzheimer's Disease.[7]
Research and career
editDurand was appointed to the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1970.[4] She was a much celebrated teacher, teaching all levels at University of Wisconsin–Madison. She appeared in the Aspen Center for Physics video series.[8] She worked on the SVZ method to calculate hadronic masses as well as heavy-quark systems.[9][10] During her career she was a visiting scientist in several national facilities. She worked at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in 1973, 1982 and 1984.[4] She also worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Institute for Advanced Study and California Institute of Technology.[4][11] In 1994, Iowa State University endowed a brick in the Iowa State University Plaza of Heroines.[1]
Durand has been involved in several initiatives to improve diversity amongst the faculty and student population at University of Wisconsin–Madison.[12] She directed an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation grant that promoted equity and career flexibility for all academic staff.[13] She was a founder of the National Science Foundation Women in Science and Engineering Leadership Institute.[12] She served on the Committee on the Status of Women in Physics.[14] Her efforts were widely appreciated; in 2002 she received the Chancellor's Recognition Award for Outstanding Leadership and the Faculty and Staff Recognition Award from the Wisconsin Alumni Association's Cabinet 99.[12] In her final five years at UW Madison, Durand was appointed the first Vice Provost for Diversity and Climate, in charge of all university climate and diversity programs. A Faculty Fellowship in physics has since been established in her honor.[7]
Durand endorsed Barack Obama in the 2008 United States presidential election.[15] She campaigned for the democratic candidate, working with over thirty scientists to publish articles and letters in newspapers across the country.[16]
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Bernice Black Durand -". Plaza of Heroines. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
- ^ a b "Bernice Black Durand Undergraduate Research Scholarship - Iowa State University Scholarships". iastate.academicworks.com. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
- ^ "Biography: Prof. Bernice Durand | Department of Physics & Astronomy". www.physastro.iastate.edu. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
- ^ a b c d "VITAE". WISC. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
- ^ Durand, Bernice Black (1971). A point and local position operator (Thesis). Iowa State University. doi:10.31274/rtd-180813-3680.
- ^ "Physics Tree - Bernice Black Durand Family Tree". academictree.org. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
- ^ a b "Obituary: Bernice Durand". www.aspentimes.com. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
- ^ "Video On-Demand". mc.grassrootstv.org. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
- ^ Durand, Bernice; Durand, Loyal (1981-03-01). "Duality for heavy-quark systems". Physical Review D. 23 (5): 1092–1102. Bibcode:1981PhRvD..23.1092D. doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.23.1092.
- ^ Durand, Bernice; Whitenton, James B.; Durand, L. (1983-05-05). "The SVZ method: Why it works and why it fails". Physics Letters B. 124 (5): 410–414. Bibcode:1983PhLB..124..410D. doi:10.1016/0370-2693(83)91485-5. ISSN 0370-2693.
- ^ "Bernice Durand". Institute for Advanced Study. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
- ^ a b c "Associate Vice Chancellor Emerita for Diversity and Climate". WISC. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
- ^ "UW System receives grant to study workplace enhancement". News. 2003-07-30. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
- ^ "Bernice Durand". Retrieved 2018-09-19.
- ^ AVoteForScience (2008-10-30), Bernice Durand Endorses Barack Obama, retrieved 2018-09-19
- ^ Science, American Association for the Advancement of (2008-10-31). "News this Week". Science. 322 (5902): 658–9. doi:10.1126/science.322.5902.658. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 18974320. S2CID 206582810.