Elizabeth Leonard Scott (November 23, 1917 – December 20, 1988) was an American

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

specializing in

statistic A statistic (singular) or sample statistic is any quantity computed from values in a sample which is considered for a statistical purpose. Statistical purposes include estimating a population parameter, describing a sample, or evaluating a hypo ...

s. Scott was born in

Fort Sill, Oklahoma Fort Sill is a United States Army post north of Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles (136.8 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. It covers almost . The fort was first built during the Indian Wars. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark ...

. Her family moved to

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

when she was 4 years old. She attended the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

where she studied

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

. She earned her Ph.D. in 1949 in

, 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 Weather modification is the act of intentionally manipulating or altering the weather. The most common form of weather modification is cloud seeding, which increases rain or snow, usually for the purpose of increasing the local water supply. W ...

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 Scott noted a bias in the observation of

galaxy clusters A galaxy cluster, or a cluster of galaxies, is a structure that consists of anywhere from hundreds to thousands of galaxies that are bound together by gravity, with typical masses ranging from 1014 to 1015 solar masses. They are the second-la ...

. 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. Dr. Scott was a Fellow of the

Institute of Mathematical Statistics The Institute of Mathematical Statistics is an international professional and scholarly society devoted to the development, dissemination, and application of statistics and probability. The Institute currently has about 4,000 members in all parts o ...

. The

Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies The Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies (COPSS) comprises the presidents, past presidents and presidents -elect of the following, primarily Northern American, professional societies of statisticians: * American Statistical Association * ...

awards a prize in her honor, the Elizabeth L. Scott Award, for "fostering opportunities in statistics for women".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Elizabeth 1917 births 1988 deaths American statisticians Women statisticians Fellows of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics Presidents of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics 20th-century American mathematicians 20th-century women mathematicians University of California, Berkeley alumni