Essex-Cohen, Elizabeth Annette (1940 - 2004)

Summary

Elizabeth Annette Essex-Cohen was one of the first women in Australia to complete a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in physics. She gained international recognition as a first class ionosphere physicist with her pioneering work on the global positioning satellite (GPS) system. Essex-Cohen initiated new research techniques for the study of the ionosphere and was heavily involved in the creation of FedSat - Australia's first launched satellite in 30 years. Essex-Cohen was also a competent lecturer, and long-term academic at La Trobe University, Bundoora. A brass plaque which commemorates her outstanding achievements was unveiled at her former school, Grafton High School, on the 23 July 2005.

Details

After completing a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in ionospheric physics at the University of New England (New South Wales) in 1966, Elizabeth Annette Essex-Cohen took up a lectureship at The University of West Indies, Jamaica. This was followed by a lectureship at James Cook University (Townsville, 1968) and then at La Trobe University, where she spent the remainder of her career. During her PhD Essex-Cohen discovered that by using different radio frequencies she could simultaneously probe different height levels of the ionosphere. These results showed that the ionosphere was much more complex than previously thought and provided essential background information for the creation of the Navstar GPS (a satellite navigation system). While at La Trobe, Essex-Cohen helped forge research links with the Australian Antarctic Division and initiated the University's partnership with the Co-operative Research Centre for Satellite Systems. The later partnership resulted in the building of and 2002 launch of FedSat - an Australian satellite. Essex-Cohen was project leader for the satellite's space-based GPS observations and experiments. After the FedSat project, she continued her GPS research working at the (US) Air Force Geophysics Laboratory in 1974 and again from 1978-1979. This was the start of many collaborations with NASA and other US agencies.

Chronology

1966

Education - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of New England in Armidale, New South Wales

1966 - 1968

Career position - Lecturer, University of West Indies in Jamaica

1974

Career position - Researcher at the (US) Air Force Geophysics Laboratory in Massachusetts, USA

1978 - 1979

Career position - Researcher at the (US) Air Force Geophysics Laboratory

Published resources

Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Exhibitions

• McCarthy, Gavan; Morgan, Helen; Smith, Ailie; van den Bosch, Alan, Where are the Women in Australian Science?, Exhibition of the Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, First published 2003 with lists updated regulary edn, Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, 2003, https://eoas.info/exhibitions/wisa/wisa.html. Details

Resources

• 'Essex-Cohen, Elizabeth Annette (1940-2004)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1473896. Details