Roy left her mark in concrete
Della M. Roy, Emeritus Professor of Materials Science, was the first female materials scientist ever elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE,1987), the first woman from Penn State to be elected to the NAE, and the first woman elected to the World Academy of Ceramics.
The founding editor of the journal Cement and Concrete (1971-2005), Roy was cited by the NAE “For internationally recognized contributions to applied science and engineering of cement and concrete.”
Her patents range from porous biomaterials for bone repair to methods for radioactive storage. The mineral dellaite, which she synthesized in 1965, is named for her. Roy’s other areas of research include chemically bonded ceramics, crystal growth and crystal chemistry, and phase equilibria.
A founding member of the Materials Research Laboratory, Roy is the author of over 400 publications. She retired from Penn State in 2012.