Fabulous 50: Billie Richardson Named AIC Fellow

In January 1969, Frances (Billie) Richardson was named a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemists.  AIC has a mission "to advance the chemical sciences by establishing high professional standards of practice and to emphasize the professional, ethical, economic, and social status of its members for the benefit of society as a whole."

Richardson (1922-2018) was the first woman faculty member of NC State's College of Engineering.  From 1951 to 1980, she was a research associate professor in the university's Department of Engineering Research, and later she held various teaching positions until her retirement in 1992. Her research and publications focused on the areas of fluid mechanics and infrared imaging thermography, as well as respiratory physiology and tracing the flow of non-Newtonian fluids using radioactive tracer displacement techniques. Richardson received a BS in chemistry from Roanoke College in 1943 and an MS in chemistry from the University of Cincinnati in 1947.

Richardson became the College of Engineering's first woman faculty member in 1951.
Richardson became the College of Engineering's first woman faculty member in 1951.

Special Collections holds Billie Richardson's papers; an online collection guide provides more detailed information about them.  Other collections also provide some information about her, and we have more photos in our Rare & Unique Digital Collections website.  If you would like to access the archival materials regarding Richardson, please contact the Special Collections Research Center.