Elizabeth Ann Johnson, a contributor to several branches of theoretical physics and an advocate for women in science and engineering, died at her home in Guildford, England, on 11 September 2003, after battling breast cancer.
Betty was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 18 October 1936. She received a BA in physics and mathematics from Swarthmore College in 1958 and subsequently traveled to the UK as a Fulbright fellow to pursue research in theoretical physics at the University of Manchester. There, she completed her PhD in elementary particle theory in 1961; her thesis was entitled “On Symmetry Classification of the Elementary Particles.” Soon afterward, she married; her husband Ron is a professor of theoretical physics at the University of Surrey, UK.
Over the next several years, Betty continued her research in elementary particle theory at Manchester, the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She also held short-term positions at Battersea College of Technology (now the University of Surrey); King’s College, London; and the University of Auckland in New Zealand. From 1970, Betty held various part-time positions at Surrey, and her interests shifted to gas dynamics and kinetic theory. During this time, she raised her two sons, one of whom later died in a tragic drowning accident.
In 1986, Daphne Jackson, then the only female professor of physics in the UK and head of the department at Surrey, set up a fund to provide fellowships for women who had taken a break from their careers in science or engineering and wanted to resume those careers. The thrust of the program was to enable such women to join a research group and get themselves up to speed with the latest developments. Betty, one of the first to obtain such a fellowship, joined the condensed matter theory group at Imperial College London in 1986 to work on the theory of delta-doping in semiconductors.
When Jackson died, the program was renamed the “Daphne Jackson Memorial Fellowships Trust.” Betty, deeply committed to the ideals of the trust, was appointed its part-time coordinator. She divided her time between the trust and her research at Imperial College, except for a year’s leave of absence during the early 1990s to fight cancer. She was also instrumental in setting up Portia, a Web site that provides a gateway for women into science, engineering, and technology, and in creating the Daphnet mailing list for women in those fields. To honor Betty for her services to those returning to scientific and technical careers, Queen Elizabeth appointed Betty an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in 2002. The University of Bath recognized her commitment by awarding her an honorary doctorate posthumously.
Betty’s research evolved into work on inelastic scattering processes in quantum transport and spin-dependent effects in semiconductors. In her theoretical physics research, she was concerned that she not only understand the fundamental physics but predict the effects in real materials. She was frequently asked to repeat calculations for new systems long after she had moved on to different interests. We benefited from her insights based on her broad experience in different research fields and indeed from her expansive network of contacts, a counterweight to the overspecialization rampant in modern science.
During the late 1990s, Betty championed some unexpected results on spin splittings at semiconductor junctions against the almost universal skepticism of colleagues. It eventually became clear that she had been right and the rest of us had got it wrong. The fruits of this work in the emerging field of spintronics will be a lasting testament to her tenacity.
As a teacher, Betty had a natural affinity for students and understood their difficulties dealing with new and complex concepts. She exhibited great patience and was willing to explain concepts from several different perspectives.
During 2001 and early 2002, although she was undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy, Betty continued her research from home through e-mail and occasional visits from colleagues. She was given research facilities and appointed a visiting professor at Surrey. In July 2003, she reported that she again had to undergo chemotherapy and would likely be unable to return to Imperial College any time soon. That was our last contact with her.
Betty was an accomplished pianist, organist, and composer. We remember her with great affection as a scientist with enormous determination who had demonstrated the flexibility to meet the challenges of different areas of research and had reinvented herself several times during her career. Unfailingly courteous and cheerful even in sickness, she served as a splendid inspiration to us. She leaves a gap in all our lives.
