Phoebe Waterman Haas
| Emma Phoebe Waterman Haas | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 20, 1882 North Dakota, United States |
| Died | 1967 (aged 84–85) Villanova, Pennsylvania |
| Alma mater | University of California, Berkeley |
| Spouse(s) | Otto Haas |
| Children | Fritz Otto and John Charles |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astronomy |
Phoebe Waterman Haas (September 20, 1882–1967) was one of the earliest American woman to be awarded a doctorate in Astronomy (1913). While her formal professional career ended upon her marriage, she contributed as a citizen scientist, volunteering for the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO). The Phoebe Waterman Haas Public Observatory was supported by donations from her family and is named in her honor.
Phoebe Waterman Haas was born in North Dakota, United States, in 1882, as Emma Phoebe Waterman. Her father was John Charles Waterman. Initially taught at home by her parents, she later went to Grant Rapids, Michigan to study at High School.
Phoebe Waterman moved from North Dakota to New York to study at Vassar College, a university for women, where she received a BA degree in 1904. Two years later she earned a master's degree in Mathematics and Astronomy, working with Caroline E. Furness.
At the time, the accepted way for a woman to be professionally involved in the field of astronomy was to be a "computer", performing data analysis and making calculations. As a computer at Mount Wilson Observatory from 1909 to 1911, Phoebe worked with leading astronomers such as George Ellery Hale, Walter S. Adams, Jacobus Kapteyn, and Harold D. Babcock. She was involved in classification and reduction of spectra and measurement of laboratory spectra. She also studied the rotation of the Sun.
Phoebe wanted to be a full professional research astronomer, making her own observations as well as doing analyses. In 1911 she applied to the University of California-Berkeley to a doctorate program. She was accepted, and was able to make observations at Lick Observatory in San José, using the Brashear spectrograph on the 36-inch refractor for her research. She was awarded a doctorate of philosophy in Astronomy on May 14, 1913,. Her thesis title was "The Visual Region of the Spectrum of the Brighter Class A Stars." She was the first women in earn an doctorate in astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley. (Waterman's dissertation was published before that of her classmate, Anna Estelle Glancy, who was awarded her degree on the same day.)
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