Ruth Dogget Terzaghi
| Ruth Doggett Terzaghi | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 14, 1903 Chicago, United States |
| Died | March 3, 1992 (aged 88) |
| Fields | Geology Earth Sciences |
| Notable awards |
Clemens Herschel Award Honorary membership in the Association of Engineering Geologists First woman to be recognized as a Fellow of the Geological Society of America |
| Spouse | Karl von Terzaghi |
| Children |
Eric Terzaghi Margaret Terzaghi-Howe |
Clemens Herschel Award Honorary membership in the Association of Engineering Geologists
Eric Terzaghi
Ruth Doggett Terzaghi (October 14, 1903 – March 3, 1992) was both a Geologist and a professor of Geology. She worked with her husband Karl Terzaghi on many engineering projects, as well as completed many papers and research projects of her own.
Ruth Allen Doggett was born in Chicago to Lewis and Grace Doggett. The Doggett family consisted of one brother and two sisters. Ruth and her siblings attended both public and private schools growing up. After graduating from high school, Ruth gained an interest in earth sciences, and attended the University of Chicago, finishing with a degree in both Geology and Earth sciences. Ruth graduated from the University of Chicago in 1924.
At a young age, Ruth Allen Doggett attended both public and private schools when she lived in Chicago. When she grew up, she attended the University of Chicago and graduated in 1924 with a degree in Geology and Earth Sciences. Ruth received an M.S in Geology at the university when she wrote a thesis on the Origin of Abnormally Steep Dips in the Niagaran reefs off the Chicago coastline. Between 1925–1928, she taught at both Goucher College and Wellesley College. While pursuing her doctorate, Ruth engaged in geological research of Geology and Petrology of the Columbian Falls region of Maine while attending Radcliffe College; it wasn’t until 1930 that she received her Ph.D in Geology from Harvard.
After writing her thesis on the Abnormal Dips in the Niagaran reefs near Chicago, Ruth spent many years from 1930 to 1938 travelling to different countries performing tests on soil and rock to determine how certain structures like bridges and dams should be built. Much of this work was done alongside her husband. She assisted him in his work by editing his papers and doing any additional research needed. During World War II Ruth began to develop an interest in the deterioration of cement. She was awarded the Clemens Herschel Prize for her paper on the similarity between the deterioration of concrete and the weathering of rock. This paper appeared in the Journal of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers in 1950. Later in 1950 Ruth's research led to her being assigned to determine the cause of the deterioration of concrete railway structures across the United States. Her experience in this field caught the attention of a bridge engineer Orwin Peck. Peck had been involved in the construction and design of a series of bridges with concrete components, which after 25 years began to deteriorate. Ruth made the suggestion that the current concrete beams be switched out for concrete beams with low alkali content. In 1948 she was awarded the first female position in the Geological Society of America for this idea. Her final scientific contribution and the paper she is most well known for "Sources of Error in Joint Surveys" Terzaghi R.D. (1965). Sources of Error in Joint Surveys. Geotechnique, 15(3) pp 287–304. is what earned her an honorary membership into the Association of Engineering Geologists. Her work was crucial in the early development of roadways and bridges as she was tasked with determining ways to combat the effects of deterioration in concrete. A task which she excelled at and which paved the way for the "modern" way of bridge building.
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