Della Roy ’47
Cement Paves the Way to Illustrious Career

It’s been 53 years since Della Roy finished her bachelor’s degree in chemistry at the University of Oregon. During that time, Roy has built a career in materials science and engineering at Penn State that would exhaust most mortals. She has authored 400 publications and four patents, edited eight books, founded a research magazine, mentored thirty-six graduate students, and chaired numerous conferences and committees—and those are just the highlights. “Retired” since 1992, Roy still puts in a full day at the office whenever she is in town.

“One is stimulated by activity,” says Roy. “I just find it energizing.” Even while a top student at the UO, Roy was busy with band, piano lessons, hiking, and intramural sports, in addition to her chemistry studies. “The one thing I missed was the opportunity to learn to play golf,” she says. Roy graduated in 1947 with many honors—magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, and Sigma Xi. “I had a very heavy academic program and yet I managed to find time to do some of the other activities I liked to do.” She says she feels an enormous gratitude to her instructors and professors at the UO. “If I have done half as well for my graduate students, I consider that a great plus,” she says.

Fortunately for science, research is one of the things Della Roy greatly enjoys. And so it’s been—throughout her long and illustrious career as a leader in cement and biomaterials. Elected to the prestigious National Academy of Engineering in 1987, Roy has focused much of her research on gaining a fundamental understanding of cement and its numerous applications. Her synthesis of low-porosity cement has been used to develop nuclear waste storage, and her research on ultra high-strength cement has influenced other researchers and led to the development of new products.

One of her favorite projects involves the synthesis of biomaterials used for dental bone implants. She and her colleagues at Penn State worked for more than two years with little financial support to develop a synthetic porous material to be used for dental implant restoration. The research led to a patent that has earned Penn State a nice sum in royalties. “It was finally something that was useful for people,” says Roy.

The bulk of Roy’s research has focused on cement. While cement research may seem unglamorous at first glance, concrete is the most widely used material in the world in terms of volume, and advances in cement make a big difference, says Roy. “Because cement is so widely used, even small improvements have a very big impact on society,” she says. If highways and buildings last longer, we produce less waste as a society and everyone benefits.

In 1971, Roy founded the journal Cement and Concrete Research, now recognized as a leading voice in the field. Roy decided to start the international journal for materials scientists and engineers when she realized there wasn’t an adequate voice for the science. The magazine is published twelve months a year, and Roy has been the chief editor since it’s inception.

Roy believes the future of cement may be tied to waste. She currently is working to find ways to use fly ash, a by-product of coal generation in power plants, as a component of cement. “There’s a great opportunity in cement research on the use of waste materials in cement and concrete,” says Roy. It’s an area of research that can have enormous societal benefits down the road.

But whether people outside the cement community know about her great contributions to society or not, Roy’s name will go down in history—as Dellaite. She and her husband, Rustum, have minerals named in their honor. “As far as I know, we were the first husband and wife team to have minerals named after them,” she says.