Born: 10 October 1891, United States
Died: 2 July 1990
Country most active: United States
Also known as: Molly Rice
The following was written by Nina Baker and is excerpted from the book From Alchemy to Transport Phenomena: A Global History of Women in Chemical Engineering.
The first woman to graduate (anywhere) in chemical engineering was Marion ‘Molly’ Rice Hart (1891-1990). Her BSc thesis at Massachusetts Institute of Technology was on ‘An experimental analysis of adsorption filters’ (1913).
She then earned a MSc in geology from Columbia University. However she did not really go on to work in chemical engineering, her first job being as a physicist with General Electric Company’s research department and is said to have had a multiplicity of other jobs in geology and electronics and is best known for her extensive aviation career and record breaking flying exploits.