[7] After attending Rayson School in New York City, she entered Bryn Mawr College on a scholarship, where she was inspired by two professors in particular: mathematician Charlotte Angas Scott and physicist James Barnes.

[7] In 1917, Irving Langmuir, a former colleague of her father and future Nobel laureate, took Katharine on a tour of General Electric (GE)'s research laboratories.

Langmuir arranged for her to study physics at the Cavendish Laboratory of Cambridge University, persuading somewhat reluctant administrators to offer one of their few positions to a woman.

[7] Blodgett was hired by the General Electric company as a research scientist in 1918 after receiving a master's degree from the University of Chicago.

She often worked with Irving Langmuir, who had pioneered a technique for creating single-molecule thin films on the surface of water.

Blodgett and Langmuir explored the application of similar techniques to lipids, polymers, and proteins, creating monomolecular coatings designed to cover surfaces of water, metal, or glass.

While in principle, Blodgett's multilayer thin films had potential for use as antireflective coatings, General Electric never commercialized them because they were too soft and could easily be wiped off a surface.

[13] Other types of films employing harder antireflective coatings or etched surfaces proved more useful for applications such as camera lenses.

[14] Blodgett also invented a color gauge, a method to measure the thickness of molecular coatings on glass to the nearest one millionth of an inch.

She was known for her contributions to civic affairs, including roles in the Travelers Aid Society and the General Electric employee's club.

[citation needed] Blodgett spent time during the summer at a camp at Lake George in upstate New York, where other General Electric scientists also owned property, and she pursued her love of gardening.

She died in her home on October 12, 1979, leaving behind a legacy of innovation, resilience, and breaking barriers for women in science and engineering.

She received a star in the seventh edition of American Men of Science (1943), recognizing her as one of the 1,000 most distinguished scientists in the United States.

In 1972, the Photographic Society of America presented her with its Annual Achievement Award[7] and in 2007 she was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.