SWE - Fall 2007 - (Page 92) IN MEMORIAM Martha Jane Bergin Thomas, Ph.D. March 13, 1926 - October 16, 2006 SWE Achievement Award Recipient, Earned 24 Patents M artha Jane Bergin Thomas, Ph.D., will be remembered as a woman pioneer in science, a wife, mother, student, teacher, dedicated employee, and friend. Dr. Thomas passed away in her home in Royal Palm Beach, Fla., on Monday, October 16, 2006. Born on March 13, 1926 in West Roxbury, Mass. to John and Augusta Bergin, Martha Jane Bergin graduated from Boston Girls Latin School and received her Bachelor of Science degree from Radcliffe College in 1945. She earned her Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Boston University in 1953 and received her M.B.A. from Northestern University in 1983. She worked as a scientist for GTE Sylvania in Salem, Mass. for over four decades, where she made 23 official improvements in light bulbs and earned 24 patents in lighting. She developed Sylvania’s natural white phosphor for fluorescent lamps to impart daylight hues, and developed a phosphor that raised mercury lamp brightness by 10 percent. Dr. Thomas also established two pilot plants for the preparation of phosphors. She was an active member of The Society of Women Engineers, where she served as national secretary, and the American Chemical Society. Dr. Thomas received the SWE Achievement Award in 1965. Her citation read: In recognition of her significant contributions to the science of chemistry, as an engineer, educator, and administrator, while fulfilling her duties as a wife and mother. Typical of the 1960s era, Dr. Thomas was featured in news articles in the popular press where the focus was on her ability to fulfill the traditional roles of wife and mother along with her scientific and engineering achievements. Having a fulfilling personal life was important to Dr. Thomas. In 1955, she married Dr. George Richard Thomas and settled in Winchester, Mass. Together they raised four daughters, Augusta, Abigail, Anne and Susan. The family enjoyed summers at their beach house in Westport, where Martha and George retired in 1990. After the death of her husband in 1995, Dr. Thomas moved to Royal Palm Beach, Fla. to be with her daughter Susan Hutcheon and her family. In 1991 Dr. Thomas was named New England Inventor of the Year by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Boston Museum of Science. She received numerous honors for her contributions, including: National Research Fellow, Boston University; American Men of Science; Who’s Who of American Women; Who’s Who in Engineering; and The World Who’s Who of Women. Dr. Thomas is survived by four daughters, their spouses, and five grandchildren. Burial was in Brighton, Mass. Sources: The Boston Globe, SWE Archives 92 SWE FALL 2007
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