Ruby Violet Payne-Scott

Ruby Payne-Scott was an Australian pioneer in radiophysics and radio astronomy, and was the first female radio astronomer. She was born in Grafton, New South Wales, in 1912, and graduated from the University of Sydney with degrees in mathematics, physics, and engineering. She worked as a physicist at the Cancer Research Institute and as a teacher before joining Amalgamated Wireless Australasia (AWA) as a librarian and researcher. In 1941, she was recruited by the CSIR Division of Radiophysics to work on radar research during World War II. She made important contributions to the development of microwave radar equipment and techniques. After the war, she shifted her focus to radio astronomy and became one of the founding members of the field in Australia. She discovered the first radio source outside the solar system, which was later identified as the Crab Nebula. She also developed the theory of Fourier synthesis for radio telescopes, which enabled high-resolution imaging of the sky using arrays of antennas. She also studied solar radio emissions, interplanetary scintillation, and radio noise. She was a leader and mentor in her field, and advocated for women's rights in science and society. She married William Holman Hall, a telephone engineer, in 1944, and had two children, Peter and Fiona. She had to resign from her position at CSIR in 1951 due to the marriage bar that prevented married women from holding permanent positions in the public service. She continued to work as a teacher and a researcher until her retirement in 1974. She died of cancer in 1981 at the age of 68.