Willie Hobbs Moore

Willie Hobbs was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on May 23, 1934, to parents Bessie and William Hobbs.[1]

In 1954, she began attending the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan as a first-generation college student.[2] There, she earned a bachelor of science in electrical engineering in 1958 and a master of science in electrical engineering in 1961.[3] In 1972, she earned a doctorate in physics from the University of Michigan, making her the first African American woman to receive a PhD in physics from an American university.[2] Her doctoral thesis, A Vibrational Analysis of Secondary Chlorides, was completed under the supervision of spectroscopist Dr. Samuel Krimm.[4]

While working toward her doctoral degree, Moore held positions at technology firms in Ann Arbor, such as KMS Industries and Datamax Corporation.[5] She also held engineering positions at Bendix Aerospace Systems, Barnes Engineering, and Sensor Dynamics, where she conducted theoretical analysis.[1]

After receiving her doctorate, Moore worked at the University of Michigan as a lecturer and research scientist until 1977, continuing spectroscopic work on proteins.[6] In the five years following her dissertation, she published more than thirty papers with Krimm and collaborators, in a variety of journals, including the Journal of Molecular Spectroscopy, the Journal of Chemical Physics, and the Journal of Applied Physics.[2]

In 1977, Moore was hired by Ford Motor Company as an assembly engineer.[5] Moore expanded Ford's use of Japanese engineering and manufacturing methods in the 1980s.[1] She did this in part by writing a technical paper which communicated the concepts of Japanese engineer Genichi Taguchi as working design methods for practical use.[7]

In January 1991, Ebony magazine named Moore as one of their 100 "Most Promising Black Women in Corporate America".[7]

In Moore's honor, the University of Michigan established the Willie Hobbs Moore: Aspire, Advance, Achieve Award for those who mentor students in the fields of Science, Technology, and Engineering.[6]

Moore was a tutor at the Saturday African-American Academy in Ann Arbor, a community program for teaching science and mathematics to students in grades 5-12.[1] She was also a member of The Links, Incorporated.[1]

Moore had two sisters, Alice Doolin and Thelma Gordy. For thirty years, Moore was married to Sidney L. Moore, who taught at the University of Michigan's Neuropsychiatric Institute.[5] They had two children, Dorian Moore, M.D. and Christopher Moore RN. Moore has 3 grandchildren, Sydney Padgett, William Hobbs Moore, and C. Jackson Moore.

Moore died of cancer in her Ann Arbor home on March 14, 1994.[1]