Erna L. Gibbs

Erna Leonhardt-Gibbs (1904 – July 23, 1987) was a German

Research and career

In 1928, Erna Leonhardt left Germany and immigrated to the United States.

Erna and Frederic were married in 1930 (Erna becoming Erna Leonhardt-Gibbs), and worked collaboratively on projects thereafter.

In 1931, the Gibbses moved to the University of Pennsylvania to work for the Johnson Foundation. as was the leading theory at the time. Frederic Gibbs approached Albert Grass, who worked at MIT, about designing a three-channel EEG machine. The three-channel EEG was finished by the time they returned, and they were able to advance their research further.

In the following years of research from 1935 to 1941, the Gibbses worked on creating the first Atlas on Electroencephalography, a manual on patterns to help other EEG researchers identify patterns. Erna Gibbs began training technicians and scientists to read and record unipolar EEGs. and the Lasker Award in 1957 for their work on epilepsy. Erna Gibbs is not listed for either award, despite her contributions. She was named "Woman of the Year" by the American Women’s Association in 1958.

Gibbs died on July 23, 1987, at 83 years old.

Publications

GALLAGHER, ROSWELL J. M.D.1; GIBBS, ERNA L.1; GIBBS, FREDERIC A. M.D.1. RELATION BETWEEN THE ELECTRICAL ACTIVITY OF THE CORTEX AND THE PERSONALITY IN ADOLESCENT BOYS. Psychosomatic Medicine 4(2):p 134-139, April 1942.

Gibbs, Frederic Andrews, and Erna L. (Erna Leonhardt) Gibbs. Medical Electroencephalography. Addison-Wesley Pub. Co., 1967.