1902-1997

American mathematician who held high-level military research posts in the early 1950s and, in 1970, became the first woman to be elected president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Rees earned a doctorate in associative algebra at the University of Chicago in 1931. During World War II, she left a teaching post at Hunter College to work for the Office of Scientific Research and Development. After the war, Rees was named director of the mathematics division of the Office of Naval Research, and served as its deputy science director from 1952-53.