Education
She obtained a Bachelor of Arts from Brooklyn College in 1942, an Master of Surgery from the University of Rochester in 1945, and a Doctor of Philosophy in 1948, from the University of Chicago, all in physics.
She obtained a Bachelor of Arts from Brooklyn College in 1942, an Master of Surgery from the University of Rochester in 1945, and a Doctor of Philosophy in 1948, from the University of Chicago, all in physics.
She was an instructor in physics at Brooklyn College (1946–1951), a researcher at Bell Laboratories (1951–1952), and a staff member at General Telephone and Electric Laboratories (1952–1972). In 1972 she joined the Xerox Wilson Research Center, where she was a Research Fellow from 1981 to 1998. In 1998, Conwell joined the University of Rochester, where she was a professor of chemistry and of physics.
She earned four patents and published more than 200 papers.
Her son, Lewis Rothberg, is also a tenured Physics and Physical Chemistry Professor at the University of Rochester. His research focuses on organic electronics and biomolecular sensing using laser energetics.
On November 16, 2014, Conwell was walking when she was struck by her neighbor"s car as he was backing out of his driveway. Captain David Catholdi of the Brighton Police Department stated that alcohol and speed were not factors in the incident.
She was taken to Strong Memorial Hospital, where she died from her injuries several hours later.
She was 92 years old.
In November 2002, Discover magazine listed Conwell as one of the 50 most important female scientists at the time. Conwell was a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the American Physical Society. She was also a member of the National Academy of Engineering, National Academy of Sciences, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She had received the Achievement Award of the Society of Women Engineers and an Honorary Doctor of Science from Brooklyn College. She received the 1997 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Edison Medal for "fundamental contributions to transport theory in semiconductor and organic conductors, and their application to the semiconductor, electronic copying and printing industries." The American College of Surgeons Award for Encouraging Women into s in the Chemical Sciences was awarded to her in 2008. In 2010, Conwell received the prestigious National Medal of Science from President Barack Obama, for "her broad contributions to understanding electron and hole transport in semiconducting materials, which helped to enable commercial applications of semiconductor and organic electronic devices, and for extending her analysis to studying the electronic properties of deoxyribonucleic acid.".
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. National Academy of Sciences.
