Roles at Polytechnic

Judith Bregman held three distinct positions at Polytechnic Institute, with a leave of absence taken in between each role. Her first role was as a research associate in the physics department from the years 1955 to 1957. Records indicate that immediately following this position, Poly went on to hire Judith as an assistant professor of Physics. She held this position for 3 years. However, Poly’s records indicate that for two of those three years, Bregman was on leave.

It seems that shortly after the promotion from research associate to assistant professor, she was offered the opportunity to work with the Weizmann Institute of Science located in Rehovot, Israel. Her records show that while abroad, she was a Weizmann Memorial Fellow, a Senior Scientist, and Acting Head of the Department of X-ray and Crystallography. This is not the first time the study of crystallography had appeared in my research. While looking into both Judith’s employment and research activities, the topic of crystallography came up a handful of times, showing that this particular area of physics was one she found highly interesting. Her records from the Polytechnic Archives indicate that crystallography was a large part of her research activities, and could have even been what she was working on during her time as a research associate at the institution. So, what is crystallography? According to the Institute of Physics, the study of crystallography originated back in 1912 when scientists began to play with newly discovered x-ray technologies.

Following the leave of absence from her position as an assistant professor, Judith made the journey back home to Brooklyn and was hired by Polytechnic as their new Associate Professor of Physics. The time frame for this position says 1962-date, and after reading through the document in its entirety it was discovered that “to date” refers to June 1974. As a professor of physics, Judith taught a handful of class types. Her course catalog included introductory courses in the basic concepts of physics for both physics majors and non-majors, fundamentals for electrical engineering seniors, two courses dedicated to seniors studying physics, physics for chemists, an x-ray technique lab, and, to no surprise a course on crystallography. Not long after this four-year stint, she was appointed as a member of the Committee on Chemical Crystallography for the National Research Council for a three-year term. 

A professor’s job undoubtedly means having to teach a variety of courses that fit your area of expertise, but seeing the wide range of ability levels and educational backgrounds that Judith taught physics to only further demonstrates her love for sharing knowledge with everyone, no matter what level they were at. The research that she did pertaining to science teaching for non-scientists, and the work she completed in terms of filmmaking for educational purposes surely made being a student in one of Judith’s classes easier than that of your typical physics course. Judith’s dedication to students didn’t solely apply to classroom activities, though. Records show that she went out of her way for them in other areas as well, volunteering her time without being asked to aid the student body in what many would consider a time of great need. 

At a time of national uncertainty and political upheaval, Judith Bregman stepped up to the plate out of the goodness of her heart and a genuine concern for students. Amendments to drafting laws that limited the number of deferrals allocated to students during the Vietnam War era prompted Bregman to become Polytechnic’s first draft counselor. In an article printed by The Polytechnic Reporter on Thursday, October 24th, 1968, Jerry Bleiberg wrote about what motivated Judith to take on this role and what the counseling service consisted of.