P004169 revised AU-VU:EOAS Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation

All key entry types: Awards; Concepts; Corporate Bodies (Organisations); Cultural Artefacts; People; etc

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 English AACR2 Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules Person created 2003-02-10 human Ailie Smith updated 2026-03-10 human https://www.eoas.info/biogs/P004169b.htm person Bear Isabel AM FRACI AACR2 Bear, Joy 4 January 1927 8 April 2021 Place of Birth Camperdown, Victoria, Australia Place of Death Barongarook Gardens, Colac, Victoria, Australia Mineral chemist Joy Bear was a prominent researcher in the field of solid-state chemistry and metallurgy. She joined the Council for Scientific Research as a junior laboratory Assistant in 1944, was the first woman in CSIRO to be promoted to the research staff, and intimately retired as Senior Principal Research Scientist in 1992. This was a triumph over entrenched workplace practices that neither promoted women scientists nor recognised their research talents. In her research she discovered a number of previously unknown metastable zirconium sulfate hydrates. In particular she is noted for her chemical characterisation (in collaboration with Richard Thomas) and naming of "petrichor", a volatile oil that is associated with the smell of rain. Bear received a number of awards recognising her research: she was the first woman to receive the Leighton memorial Medal from the Royal Australian Chemical Institute. Her book Aluminia to zirconia: the history of the CSIRO Division of Mineral Chemistry, co-authored with T. Beigler and T. R. Scott, was published in 2005. 1944 1950 Career position - Junior Laboratory Assistant, Minerals Utilization Section, CSIR(O) Division of Industrial Chemistry 1950 1950 Education - Associate Diploma of Applied Science, Melbourne Technical College 1950 1950 Education - Associate Diploma of Applied Chemistry, Melbourne Technical College 1950 1951 Career position - Experimental Scientist at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Harwell, United Kingdom 1951 1953 Career position - Research Assistant at University of Birmingham, United Kingdom 1953 1958 Career position - Experimental Officer, Minerals Utilization Section, CSIRO Division of Industrial Chemistry 1958 1959 Career position - Experimental Officer, CSIRO Minerals Utilization Section 1959 1967 Career position - Experimental Officer, CSIRO Division of Mineral Chemistry 1967 1972 Career position - Senior Research Scientist, CSIRO Division of Mineral Chemistry 1970 1970 Education - Diploma of Applied Chemistry, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology 1972 1979 Career position - Principal Research Scientist, CSIRO Division of Mineral Chemistry 1974 2021 Award - Fellow, Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy 1978 1978 Education - Senior Doctoral Degree in Applied Science, Victoria Institute of Colleges 1979 1988 Career position - Senior Principal Research Scientist, CSIRO Division of Mineral Chemistry 1986 1986 Award - Member of the Order of Australia (AM) - in recognition of service to science, particularly in the field of mine chemistry 1986 2021 Award - Fellow, Royal Australian Chemical Institute 1988 1988 Award - Leighton Memorial Medal, Royal Australian Chemical Institute 1988 1992 Career position - Senior Principal Research Scientist, CSIRO Division of Mineral Products 1992 1992 Life event - Retired 1992 1997 Career position - Honorary Fellow, CSIRO Division of Mineral Products (later Minerals Division) 2001 2001 Publication - Book: Alumina to Zirconia, with Tom Beigler and Tom Scott, published by CSIRO 2005 2005 Award - Inducted into the Victorian Honour Roll of Women Thomas, Richard Grenfell (Dick) (1901 - 1974) Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (1893 - )

Fellow 1974 - 2021

 Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) (1953 - )

Fellow 1986 - 2021

 Leighton Memorial Medal, Royal Australian Chemical Institute (1965 - )

Awarded the Medal 1988

 CSIR/O Division of Industrial Chemistry, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (1940 - 1958)

Experimental Officer 1953 - 1958

 CSIRO Division of Mineral Chemistry, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (1959 - 1988)

Experimental Officer (later Senior Principal Research Scientist) 1959 - 1988

 CSIRO Division of Mineral Products, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (1988 - 1995)

Senior Principal Research Scientist 1988 - 1992

 CSIRO Minerals Utilization Section, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (1958 - 1959)

Experimental Officer 1958 - 1959

 Bear, Isabel Joy (1927-)

Trove

 'Bear, Isabel (Joy)', in Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, Centre for Transformative Innovation, Swinburne University of Technology Bear, Isabel (Joy) Swinburne University of Technology, Centre for Transformative Innovation Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Journal Article: Isabel Joy Bear: a biographical note O'Neil, Jo Isabel Joy Bear: a biographical note 2002 Wisenet : Journal of the Women in Science Enquiry Network 60 9 Journal Article: Nature of argillaceous odour Bear, I. J.; and Thomas, R. G. Nature of argillaceous odour 1964 Nature 201 993-5 Journal Article: Genesis of petrichor Bear, I. J.; and Thomas, R. G. Genesis of petrichor 1966 Geochimica et cosmochimica acta 30 9 869-79 Book: Alumina to zirconia: the history of CSIRO Division of Mineral Chemistry Bear, I. Joy.; Biegler, Tom; Scott, Tom. R. Alumina to zirconia: the history of CSIRO Division of Mineral Chemistry Clayton, Victoria CSIRO Minerals 2001 Journal Article: The smell of rain: how CSIRO invented a new word Poynton, Howard The smell of rain: how CSIRO invented a new word Australia The Conversation AU 2015 The Conversation Book: Joy Bear Spurling, Heather; and Symington, David Joy Bear Blackburn, Vic. Dove Communications 1986 Journal Article: Breaking down barriers: standing on the shoulders of Australia's early female chemists McNamara, Nicole; Kopinathan, Anitha; Wolff, Helen; Spurling, Thomas H.; Simpson, Gregory; and Locock, Katherine E. S. Breaking down barriers: standing on the shoulders of Australia's early female chemists 2023 Australian journal of chemistry 76 2 63-73 Resource Section: Isabel 'Joy' Bear Ward, C. Isabel 'Joy' Bear Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) 2021 CSIROpedia Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Book: Engineering a Legacy: Memories of the journey of CSIRO Chemical Engineering Beale, Bob Engineering a Legacy: Memories of the journey of CSIRO Chemical Engineering Clayton, Victoria CSIRO Minerals 2005 Thesis: Writing about Women in the History of Science: a Study of Women at the CSIR 1930-1950 Alvarez, Amaya Jane Writing about Women in the History of Science: a Study of Women at the CSIR 1930-1950 Melbourne University of Melbourne 1993 Edited Book: Who's who in Australia 2001 Herd, Margaret Who's who in Australia 2001 38 Melbourne Crown Content 2001