Della Marie Martin Roy (1926–2021) was an American materials scientist who worked for more than 50 years at Pennsylvania State University.
She was "an international leader in the field of cement and concrete research",[1] including the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from cement production;[2] she was also known for her work on radioactive waste disposal, on the industrial uses of coal combustion products obtained as waste from other processes, on methods for converting coral into hydroxyapatite while preserving its porous structure, and on applications of converted coral in medical implants.
She completed high school at age 16, and majored in chemistry at the University of Oregon, where she graduated phi beta kappa in 1947.
[3] It is a calcium silicate hydrate (in the same family of compounds used for Portland cement), with the chemical formula Ca6(Si2O7)(SiO4)(OH)2, discovered in metamorphosed Scotland limestone, and synthesized in the laboratory by Roy.
[6] In Memorial Tributes: National Academy of Engineering, Susan Trolier-McKinstry identifies the following as "among the most important" of Roy's publications, which numbered over 400 in total: As well, she was coauthor of two books: