Désirée Le Beau (14 February 1907 - 1993) was an Austro-Hungarian-American industrial chemist and inventor known for developing new methods of rubber reclamation.

Early life and education

Le Beau was born in Teschen,

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, now in modern-day Poland. Le Beau studied at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...

for her undergraduate degree, and earned her Ph.D. in chemistry with minors in physics and mathematics from the

University of Graz The University of Graz (german: link=no, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, ), located in Graz, Austria, is the largest and oldest university in Styria, as well as the second-largest and second-oldest university in Austria. History The unive ...

in 1931. In 1955, she married Henry W. Meyer.

Career and research

After earning her Ph.D., Le Beau started her career as a researcher at the Austro-American Rubber Works in Vienna. She was also a consultant for the Société de Progrès Technique in Paris. In 1936, she moved to the Dewey and Alma Chemical Company in Massachusetts, where she stayed until her 1940 move to

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the mo ...

as a research associate. Le Beau stayed at MIT until 1945, then moved to Illinois to work in rubber reclaiming, where she stayed until 1950. In 1950, she moved to Pennsylvania and became the Currie lecturer at

Pennsylvania State College The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State became ...

. Le Beau was noted for her work with

colloids A colloid is a mixture in which one substance consisting of microscopically dispersed insoluble particles is suspended throughout another substance. Some definitions specify that the particles must be dispersed in a liquid, while others extend ...

and her use of tires in both natural and synthetic rubber reclamation; she also worked on the structure of clay and rubber, both natural and synthetic. She held several patents in this area.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Le Beau, Desiree American women scientists 20th-century American chemists 1907 births 1993 deaths University of Vienna alumni University of Graz alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology staff Austrian emigrants to the United States 20th-century American women scientists