In Memoriam: Melba Newell Phillips

In Memoriam: Melba Newell Phillips
1907 - 2004

Phillips was born in Hazleton, Indiana, on Feb. 1, 1907. She received a B.A. from Oakland City College in 1926 and her M.A. from Battle Creek College in 1928. She was a Whiting fellow at the University of California, Berkeley from 1932-1933 when she received a Ph.D. in physics.

Phillips was the first graduate student of J. Robert Oppenheimer to receive a degree in theoretical physics. The two physicists in 1935 offered an explanation of the mechanism of the nuclear reaction between a proton and a deuteron, which has come to be known as the Oppenheimer-Phillips Process.

During World War II, she did research on radar countermeasures at Harvard Radio Research Lab, and following the war she was appointed to the Columbia University Radiation Laboratory. At this time she also was an assistant professor in the Physics Department at Brooklyn College.

In 1952, during the infamous McCarthy era, Brooklyn College and the Columbia Radiation Laboratory dismissed Phillips for refusing to cooperate with a congressional committee that was investigating friends and colleagues. In 1987, Brooklyn College publicly apologized.

Phillips history of service to AAPT and to physics education is long and varied. In 1966, during her term as President, the Executive Secretary and TPT Editor, J.W. Buchta passed away. Phillips, with the other Board officers, assumed his duties until a replacement could be found. In addition to her years on the Executive Board, Phillips served as Acting Executive Officer during 1975-1977.

In 1981, to recognize her creative leadership and dedicated service, AAPT created the Melba Newell Phillips Award. Phillips became the first recipient in 1982. The award is given only occasionally to those who show similar achievements and exceptional contributions to the Association. Phillips also received AAPT’s Distinguished Service Citation and the Oersted Medal. In 2003, the American Physical Society granted her the Joseph A. Burton Forum Award. She was the co-author of two textbooks in science: "Electricity and Magnetism" with Wolfgang Panofsky, and "Principles of Physical Science" with F. Bonner.

Phillips came by her love of teaching early on, as her maternal grandmother, her father, and his siblings were all teachers at one point in their lives. When she was 16, she applied for her teaching certificate and passed. However, Indiana law required all teachers to be at least 18 years old, so Phillips decided to go to college. She had acquired a love of physics in high school, and pursued physics and math classes in college even though there was no physics major. She later wrote that her math professor, William Jordan, "was a source of strength and inspiration well beyond the mathematics he taught."

Phillips later created the "William Jordan Endowment Scholarship" at Oakland City University, Oakland City, IN, in memory and honor of Jordan. The family requests that any memorials be directed to the Scholarship.

In Memoriam: Melba Newell Phillips
1907 - 2004

Melba Newell Phillips, the first female president of the American Association of Physics Teachers, died on Nov. 8, 2004.

Phillips was born in Hazleton, Indiana, on Feb. 1, 1907. She received a B.A. from Oakland City College in 1926 and her M.A. from Battle Creek College in 1928. She was a Whiting fellow at the University of California, Berkeley from 1932-1933 when she received a Ph.D. in physics.

Phillips was the first graduate student of J. Robert Oppenheimer to receive a degree in theoretical physics. The two physicists in 1935 offered an explanation of the mechanism of the nuclear reaction between a proton and a deuteron, which has come to be known as the Oppenheimer-Phillips Process.

During World War II, she did research on radar countermeasures at Harvard Radio Research Lab, and following the war she was appointed to the Columbia University Radiation Laboratory. At this time she also was an assistant professor in the Physics Department at Brooklyn College.

In 1952, during the infamous McCarthy era, Brooklyn College and the Columbia Radiation Laboratory dismissed Phillips for refusing to cooperate with a congressional committee that was investigating friends and colleagues. In 1987, Brooklyn College publicly apologized.

Phillips history of service to AAPT and to physics education is long and varied. In 1966, during her term as President, the Executive Secretary and TPT Editor, J.W. Buchta passed away. Phillips, with the other Board officers, assumed his duties until a replacement could be found. In addition to her years on the Executive Board, Phillips served as Acting Executive Officer during 1975-1977.

In 1981, to recognize her creative leadership and dedicated service, AAPT created the Melba Newell Phillips Award. Phillips became the first recipient in 1982. The award is given only occasionally to those who show similar achievements and exceptional contributions to the Association. Phillips also received AAPT’s Distinguished Service Citation and the Oersted Medal. In 2003, the American Physical Society granted her the Joseph A. Burton Forum Award. She was the co-author of two textbooks in science: "Electricity and Magnetism" with Wolfgang Panofsky, and "Principles of Physical Science" with F. Bonner.

Phillips came by her love of teaching early on, as her maternal grandmother, her father, and his siblings were all teachers at one point in their lives. When she was 16, she applied for her teaching certificate and passed. However, Indiana law required all teachers to be at least 18 years old, so Phillips decided to go to college. She had acquired a love of physics in high school, and pursued physics and math classes in college even though there was no physics major. She later wrote that her math professor, William Jordan, "was a source of strength and inspiration well beyond the mathematics he taught."

Phillips later created the "William Jordan Endowment Scholarship" at Oakland City University, Oakland City, IN, in memory and honor of Jordan. The family requests that any memorials be directed to the Scholarship.