Margaret D. Foster (March 4, 1895 – November 5, 1970) was an American chemist. In 1918, she became the first female chemist to work for the
United States Geological Survey, developing ways to detect minerals within naturally occurring bodies of water, and was recruited to work on the
Manhattan Project during World War II, developing new techniques of
quantitative analysis for the radioactive elements
uranium and
thorium. This photograph depicts Foster working with chemicals in a laboratory in 1919.
Photograph credit: National Photo Company; restored by Adam Cuerden