Gladys Mackenzie

Gladys Isabel Harper (née Mackenzie; 2 May 1903 – 1989) was a Scottish physicist who studied X-rays. She taught physics at Newnham College, Cambridge and was a research fellow of the University of Bristol.

She conducted research in X-ray physics, focusing on topics such as alpha particles, X-ray monochromatization, and spectroscopy. Her research of alpha particles proved that the theory of John Arthur Gaunt can also be applied to molecular hydrogen. She also developed through her research of crystal and slit systems a quantitative general theory for analysis of composite radiation and production of monochromatic beams. She attended the University of Edinburgh and graduated with an MA and BSc in mathematics and natural philosophy. She worked as an assistant at the University of Edinburgh for two years before being appointed to a lectureship in physics at Newnham College in Cambridge. She was also a physics lecturer at the University of Bristol and later a part-time lecturer in physics at Queen Elizabeth College in London, where she was named an honorary lecturer in 1970.