Ruth Anna Marie Schmidt (April 22, 1916 – March 29, 2014) was an American geologist and paleontologist who was a pioneer for women scientists.

[1][2] She graduated from Brooklyn's Erasmus Hall High School,[3] and then attended the Washington Square College of New York University 1932–1936, during the height of the Great Depression.

[7] To earn money for graduate school,[7] she worked as an x-ray technician at a private medical doctor's office and at Long Island Hospital.

[8]: 2/8  Schmidt competed with 84 other candidates to win a $500 fellowship from New York City Panhellenic to conduct advanced study of the application of radiography to paleontology.

[11]: 4  Her membership in this organization, which was branded as communist by U.S. Attorney General Tom C. Clark in 1947,[12] led to two investigations against Schmidt by the Department of Interior.

[14] Her passports[15] bear the stamps of two dozen countries, including Algeria, Antarctica, Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Ecuador, the Falkland Islands, Finland, Hong Kong, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).

[15] Schmidt began working for the United States Geological Survey (USGS) in Washington, D.C., in early 1943,[1][16] postponing the completion of her doctoral dissertation until 1948.

[18] Beginning in 1948, and continuing through 1950, Schmidt worked for the top secret Military Geology Unit of the USGS,[4] preparing "engineering geology reports, (classified) for [the] Corps of Engineers on suitability of areas in European and Pacific Theaters for construction and alignment of roads, airfields, and location of construction materials.

In 1949, Schmidt received routine clearance under the new loyalty investigation program[19] that had been instituted by President Harry Truman through Executive Order 9835.

[18] She was "in charge of all technical and administrative matters pertaining to classification of federal lands [regarding] oil, gas, coal, and other locatable minerals.

"[21]: 1  In this letter, Eberlein suggests that Schmidt "learn to live with the job emotionally" and to work on research in her "spare time.

"[21]: 2 In 1963,[1] after twenty years of service,[23] Schmidt resigned from the USGS so she would not have to leave Alaska[18] where she had purchased a home in the city of Anchorage and a small plot of wetlands outside of town upon which she had built a cabin.

[18] In this position, she taught geology, environmental education, landscapes and resources of Alaska, geomorphology, and paleontology, in addition to doing other work expected of a professor including student advising and curriculum development.

[1] In 1964, she and four others were in the middle of the frozen-over Portage Lake boring holes in the ice to gather sampling data when the Great Alaska earthquake struck.

[27] Landslides demolished entire neighborhoods, railroads and highways were destroyed, and major utilities such as gas mains, electrical grids, and phone systems were obliterated.

The crew had driven an Arctic Cat snowmobile onto the frozen lake and were drilling holes in the three feet of ice to measure the depth of the water and to study sedimentation processes.

Saucier[9] and Denison[1] state that Schmidt was appointed to serve as the federal coordinator for the Engineering and Geological Evaluation Group, and led a team of 50 scientists to assess the damage and to make recommendations for the future rebuilding of the city of Anchorage.

[9] However, a letter from then Governor William A. Egan thanking Schmidt for her "dedication and foresightedness"[30] indicates that the federal government was not initially involved.

On a job application dated 1974, Schmidt indicates that she was the coordinator and the geologist in charge of the project, and that the position ended because the "federal government took over.

There was significant conflict between Schmidt and the Anchorage Engineering and Geological Evaluation Group that she led and downtown business leaders and real estate developers.

[9] The scientific group led by Schmidt was able to complete its study and published its final report on May 8, 1964,[31] roughly a month after the earthquake occurred.

The Bookshop advocated for racial equality between African Americans (then called Negroes) and whites during a time when Washington was largely racially segregated, and sold books on African American topics, records featuring black musicians, and sponsored lectures, social activities, and concerts for interracial audiences.

[11][35] On December 5, 1947, the Washington Post published a list of organizations that Attorney General Tom C. Clark had branded as subversive and/or communistic.

[12][36] The list was created after President Harry S. Truman issued Executive Order 9835 that established a loyalty review process to ensure that no one who was disloyal to the US government would be federally employed.

Since my arrival in Washington during the war (I came in early 1943) I had been disturbed by the segregation of negroes, and the unequal treatment they received in the capital of our country.

[11]: 4 In 1947, while she was working for the USGS, Schmidt completed a routine loyalty review under Executive Order 9835, and received notification that she was cleared in 1949.

[11]: 17–19  In 1950, the issue of her membership in the Washington Cooperative Bookshop again came to the attention of the Department of Interior Loyalty Board, triggered, Schmidt thought, because she had applied to work for the Atomic Energy Commission.

[11][13] By that time, the Bookshop had closed due to financial pressures caused by the continual harassment by the federal government,[37][38] but as Schmidt wrote to a friend, "those who were members still have to answer individually the charges against the organization.

Upon Cobb's suggestion, Schmidt wrote to former professors, graduate school colleagues, friends, and co-workers to request that they submit a notarized affidavit testifying to her integrity, her loyalty to the US government, and her views about communism.

[1][4][9][14] Ruth Schmidt received many certificates, honors, awards, commendations, and letters thanking her for her service, her loyalty to professional organizations, and her notable achievements.