PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Portland State University holds a ceremony Tuesday to celebrate the life of physicist Gertrude Rempfer. She died in October at the age of 99, after a seven-decade career in the field of electron microscope technology.
The Oregonian reports (http://is.gd/fCBsYB ) her body of work includes five patents, 36 publications and aided the development of night vision goggles.
Up until her final days, she continued to work, advising the next generation of scientists at Portland State.
Gender discrimination influenced her decision to become a physicist. Rempfer was pursuing a forestry degree at the University of Washington, but switched to physics because the forestry degree required students to attend a forestry camp. Rempfer wouldn’t have been allowed in an all-male camp.
