MicroscopyPioneers
Grace Burke: Show Me the Data
Cameron Varano Te Pennsylvania State University, 201 Old Main, University Park, PA 16802
cvarano@psu.edu
I remember the first time I met Dr.
Mary Grace Burke in 2017 at Micros- copy and Microanalysis in St. Louis. It was over a gin and tonic with a sprig of rosemary per her recommendation. Within moments into the conversa- tion I, along with others at the table, was filled with her infectious enthu- siasm despite the late hour. Grace exudes that rare form of genuine zeal that while excited is also discerning. As the discussion ping-ponged from one matter of microscopy to another, Burke remained enthralled by scien- tific conversation even as it driſted from her own field of study. I also discovered she carries a bag that most humans would require a forkliſt to move. Tese are not profound insights into who Dr. Grace Burke
Grace Burke Peter Swann and Grace Burke
is. Sitting down to formally interview her I realized that Burke is not a self-promoter—not even when asked directly to do so. I have the recording to prove it. It takes less than two complete sentences for Burke to redirect the conversation away from herself. I don’t think this is due to a bashful personality. It may be from years spent in industry where the emphasis is put on outcomes rather than promoting individual thinkers. Tough I believe it is because to her, there are much more interesting subject matters than herself. Well, Grace, I respectfully disagree. Dr. Grace Burke is a scientist who has seamlessly worked within industry and academia and has served on government panels. Her work is purpose-driven and held to Burke’s personal standard of rigor that few can match. She has served as President for both the Microscopy Soci- ety of America and the Royal Microscopy Society.
She
does it all with her hallmark energy.
burgh, 50
She was raised in Pitts- Pennsylvania
attended the University
and of
HRH Princess Margaret (visiting
Imperial), FJ Humphreys, and Grace (Lackey) (PhD student) demonstrating 1 MeV AEI EM7 at Imperial College.
doi:10.1017/S1551929520001510
Pittsburgh for her und e r g r a d u a t e studies in Metallur- gical Engineering. Aſter graduating she traveled across the Atlantic to the Imperial College of Science and Tech- nology in London where she became a postgrad (the Brit- ish equivalent to a graduate student). Grace joked as she
translated that she is bilingual—knowing both British and American English. She was offered a PhD studentship by Peter Swann to research mechanisms of stress corrosion cracking of austenitic stainless steel for her graduate studies. However, aſter a few months, Peter leſt London for Pittsburgh/Warren- dale to build Gatan. Although Peter visited a few times a year, it was F. J. (John) Humphreys who took Grace under his wing. His work was focused on recrystallization of alloys rather than stress corrosion cracking (SCC), and, consequently, she had a higher-level autonomy with her research. John Humphreys’ “hands-on” approach to his own research (typical of the other Imperial EM academics, Harvey Flower and E. Paul Butler) made an impression on young Grace, who was the only “for- eigner” in the group. Tis “hands-on” approach is a trait Burke herself has carried throughout her career. During her days as a graduate student, she was focused
on identifying and understanding the mechanism of SCC, including the role of alloy microstructure in the degradation phenomenon. To fully explore SCC she employed TEM and a new technique, STEM-EDX microanalysis, as well as SEM on a JEOL 120CX TEMSCAN. While most days she could be found in the sub-sub-basement on a TEM, S/STEM, or HVEM, she saw herself as a metallurgist using microscopy to understand materials behavior rather than as a microscopist. Tis iden- tity shiſted a bit when she began working for US Steel at their Monroeville, Pennsylvania Research Laboratory. US Steel was her first position aſter obtaining her PhD, which she obtained two weeks before she married Mike Burke. Notably, she was the first female PhD hired at the Research Laboratory. When she arrived at US Steel there were two JEOL TEMSCANs being
www.microscopy-today.com • 2020 November
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