Juanita W. Healy Papers

Collection

Identifier: 2022-023

Staff Only

Scope and Content

The Juanita W. Healy Papers contain the professional papers and printed materials of American chemist Juanita W. Healy. The contents of Box 1 are arranged alphabetically by subject. Box 2 contains a single item.

A large majority of the materials in the Juanita W. Healy Papers were collected by Healy during her tenure at Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation, which includes a limited amount of information regarding her work at the firm’s South Charleston, West Virginia facility. A very small amount of materials regarding Healy’s work at the National Institutes of Health and the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Department of Chemistry is also preserved here.

Printed materials, consisting of three manuals and a reference sheet published by Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation, a bulletin published by Eastman Kodak Company, and a reference sheet published by Merck & Company, Incorporated make up the largest component of the Juanita W. Healy Papers. Healy’s personal laboratory notebook, which contains papers, correspondence, article reprints, and graphs pertaining to her work at Union Carbide, is also found in this collection. A single file containing class handouts for a chemistry class Healy apparently taught at the University of Alabama at Birmingham is also present in this collection. A research paper written by H.A. Saroff and Arthur Karmen (colleagues of Healy at the National Institutes of Health) and a copy of the book Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (signed by Juanita W. Healy and her husband Richard Healy) are preserved here as well.

Dates

Creation: 1940-1975
Creation: Bulk 1943-1955

Creator

Healy, Juanita W., 1920-2014 (Person)

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes and the collection is open to the public.

Copyright Information

The Science History Institute holds copyright to the Juanita W. Healy Papers. The researcher assumes full responsibility for all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

Background Note

Juanita Wheeler Healy (1920-2014) was an American chemist. Born in Stevenson, Alabama on January 21, 1920, Healy earned a B.S. in Chemistry from Berea College in 1942. After earning her degree, she went to work for Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation and was assigned to the firm’s subsidiary Carbide and Carbon Chemicals Corporation (which was later called the Carbide and Carbon Chemicals Company and the Carbide and Carbon Chemicals Division).

Between 1942 and the mid-1950s, Healy worked as a chemist at Union Carbide’s facility in South Charleston, West Virginia. During her tenure with Union Carbide, she worked in a laboratory investigating fundamental chemistry, including azeotropic mixtures. While at Union Carbide, during World War II, she also contributed to the American war effort by investigating improved rubber durability for the United States military.

After her tenure at Union Carbide, Healy worked as a chemist at the National Institutes of Health and the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Department of Chemistry.

Juanita W. Healy passed away on March 18, 2014.

Sources

Dignity Memorial, “Obituary, Juanita Healey, January 21, 1920-March 18, 2014.” https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/pelham-al/juanity-healy-5897579

Juanita W. Healy Papers, Science History Institute Archives, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.