Margaret D. Foster

Margaret Dorothy Foster (March 4, 1895 – November 5, 1970) was an American chemist. She was the first female chemist to work for the United States Geological Survey, and was recruited to work on the Manhattan Project.

Life
She was born in Chicago, Illinois. Her father was James Edward Foster and mother was Minnie MacAuley Foster. She graduated from Illinois College, George Washington University and from American University, with a Ph.D.

Beginning in 1918, she became the first female chemist to work on the United States Geological Survey, developing ways to detect minerals within naturally occurring bodies of water. In 1942, she worked on the Manhattan Project in the Chemistry and Physics Section, under Roger C. Wells, developing two new techniques of quantitative analysis, one for uranium and one for thorium, as well as two new ways to separate the two elements. Upon her return to the Geological Survey after the war, she researched the chemistry of clay minerals and micas. She retired in March 1965.

She died at Holy Cross Hospital, Silver Spring, Maryland.