Louise Sherwood McDowell (29 September 1876 - 6 July 1966) was an American physicist and educator.

[4][5] After receiving her Ph.D., McDowell returned to work at Wellesley College in 1909 as an instructor in the physics department in.

During her tenure as chair, McDowell oversaw the rebuilding of the department after the 1914 fire which destroyed College Hall.

[7] The physics department, which had been housed on the upper floors of the building, lost all of its demonstration and research equipment.

[8] In 1918 during World War I, McDowell took a leave of absence from Wellesley when she was hired by the National Institute of Standards and Technology to conduct research on radar.