Bernice Durand

Durand was born in Clarion, Iowa.[1] Her father studied mechanical engineering at Iowa State University and Harvard University, and joined the United States Army Corps of Engineers.[2] She grew up in Ames and attended Radcliffe College, but never finished her course.[1] She eventually completed her bachelor's degree from Iowa State University in 1965.[3] She earned her PhD with a dissertation titled A point and local position operator, in 1971.[4][5][6] She was a member of Sigma Delta Epsilon. From 1992 she has endowed an undergraduate research scholarship at Iowa State University, which provides financial support for a member of an under-represented group to complete a summer project.[1][2] Durand died on February 7, 2022, from complications with Alzheimer's Disease.[7]

Durand was appointed to the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1970.[4] She was a much celebrated teacher, teaching all levels at University of Wisconsin–Madison. She appeared in the Aspen Center for Physics video series.[8] She worked on the SVZ method to calculate hadronic masses as well as heavy-quark systems.[9][10] During her career she was a visiting scientist in several national facilities. She worked at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in 1973, 1982 and 1984.[4] She also worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Institute for Advanced Study and California Institute of Technology.[4][11] In 1994, Iowa State University endowed a brick in the Iowa State University Plaza of Heroines.[1]

Durand has been involved in several initiatives to improve diversity amongst the faculty and student population at University of Wisconsin–Madison.[12] She directed an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation grant that promoted equity and career flexibility for all academic staff.[13] She was a founder of the National Science Foundation Women in Science and Engineering Leadership Institute.[12] She served on the Committee on the Status of Women in Physics.[14] Her efforts were widely appreciated; in 2002 she received the Chancellor's Recognition Award for Outstanding Leadership and the Faculty and Staff Recognition Award from the Wisconsin Alumni Association's Cabinet 99.[12] In her final five years at UW Madison, Durand was appointed the first Vice Provost for Diversity and Climate, in charge of all university climate and diversity programs. A Faculty Fellowship in physics has since been established in her honor.[7]

Durand endorsed Barack Obama in the 2008 United States presidential election.[15] She campaigned for the democratic candidate, working with over thirty scientists to publish articles and letters in newspapers across the country.[16]