Background
Scott, Elizabeth Leonard was born on November 23, 1917 in Fort Sill, Oklahoma, United States. Daughter of Richard C. and Elizabeth (Waterman) Scott.
Astronomer mathematician statistician university professor
Scott, Elizabeth Leonard was born on November 23, 1917 in Fort Sill, Oklahoma, United States. Daughter of Richard C. and Elizabeth (Waterman) Scott.
She attended the University of California, Berkeley where she studied mathematics and astronomy. There were few options for further study in astronomy, as the field was largely closed to women at the time, so she completed her graduate studies in mathematics.
Her family moved to Berkeley, California when she was 4 years old. She received her Doctor of Philosophy in 1949, and received a permanent position in the Department of Mathematics at Berkeley in 1951. She wrote over 30 papers on astronomy and 30 on weather modification research analysis, incorporating and expanding the use of statistical analyses in these fields.
She also used statistics to promote equal opportunities and equal pay for female academics.
In 1957 Elizabeth Scott noted a bias in the observation of galaxy clusters. She noticed that for an observer to find a very distant cluster, it must contain brighter than normal galaxies and must also contain a large number of galaxies.
She proposed a correction formula to adjust for (what came to be known as) the Scott effect. The Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies awards a prize in her honour to female statisticians.
Fellow Royal Statistical Society (honorary), Institute Mathematics Statistics (president 1977-1978, member of council 1971-1974, 76-79). Member Biometric Society (council 1978-1981), American Astronomical Society, International Astronomical Union, International Statistics Institute (vice president 1981-1983), International Association Statistics in Physical Science (science secretary 1960-1972), Bernoulli Society (member of council 1978-1981, president-elect 1981-1983, president 1983-1985), Astronomical Society Pacific, American Association for the Advancement of Science (chairman of the section U 1970-1971, member of council 1971-1976).