NANCY FORBES

FORBES Nancy Anne Forbes (1952-2021) Nancy Forbes leveraged her academic background in physics to establish a long career in government and intelligence. After a short illness, she died on January 16, 2021 from cardiac arrest as a complication of mesothelioma. Ms. Forbes was an influential member of the Association for Women in Science (AWIS) and the Cosmos Club in Washington DC. She authored two books, Imitation of Life: How Biology Is Inspiring Computing; and Faraday, Maxwell, and The Electromagnetic Field (with Basil Mahon) that was translated into four languages. Nancy's first passion was literature as she earned her first BA, Magna Cum Laude, in Spanish at the University of Virginia (in the first co-ed class) and an MA in Spanish Literature at New York University. She studied poetry in Spain and worked for the Fiat company in Italy where she married photographer Ivano Piva of Turin in 1978. After their divorce, Nancy returned to New York in 1980 and became a financial journalist for the Wall Street Transcript. She discovered her love of physics while attending a lecture by a renowned physicist. Ms. Forbes returned to school at age 28 earning BS and MS degrees in physics from Columbia University by 1987. After she moved to the Washington, DC, area she began her long career providing scientific, technical and systems engineering support to the government. She produced risk assessments on transportation of spent nuclear fuel for the Department of Transportation and served as a consultant to the American Institute of Physics. Her support to military and intelligence agencies included the National Reconnaissance Office, DARPA, the US Army Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Organization (JIDO), and the CIA where she received an Exceptional Performance Award. At the time of her death, Ms. Forbes was employed by SAIC as Senior Principal Systems Engineer. Ms. Forbes was committed to the advancement of women in science. She was a long-time member of AWIS and served in various capacities in its DC Chapter, where she made many friends and mentored women in the earlier stages of their careers. She was recently awarded membership to the Alumni Association Board of Directors at Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Nancy Forbes was the founder and driving force behind the Cosmo Club's informal National Security Discussion Group. She gathered an eclectic group from military and intelligence agencies and academic, legislative, science, and journalism fields to engage in off-the-record discussions. The group remained a focus of her endeavors until the days before she died as she coordinated events and participated invisibly in Zoom meetings. In keeping with her Scottish background, Nancy helped initiate a Cosmos Club tradition of Burns Night Dinners in honor of poet Robert Burns. At local Scottish games she could always be found with the other members of Clan Forbes. In recent years, Nancy became re-acquainted with her Italian relatives in Santa Croce del Sannio and hoped to spend more time there after she retired. Nancy was enthusiastic, impulsive, and dedicated. She would say "I'd like to..." and the next thing you know she would have done it. Bored at work, Nancy proclaimed one day that she wanted to write about her idol Michael Faraday -- seven years later, her second book was published, on Faraday. Other cases touch on the mundane. She would say "I think I'll bake...", and she'd be in the kitchen, a swirl of energy around her and usually a swirl of a mess. The base of her life was love for her family, friends, country, and darling calico cats Bella and Gioia. Her love was infectious and she shared it widely. Ms. Forbes was born in Ridgewood, New Jersey, on February 4, 1952, to Florence and Charles Forbes. She is survived by her sister, Susan Forbes of DeLand, Florida, and many cousins in New York, Minnesota, and Italy. Memorial services will be planned for a later date. Memorial gifts may be made to the Nancy Forbes Memorial Fund, Association for Women in Science, at http://bit.ly/NancyForbes; or AWIS, 6181 Grovedale Court, Alexandria VA 22310. Ms. Forbes was born in Ridgewood, New Jersey, on February 4, 1952, to Florence and Charles Forbes. She is survived by her sister, Susan Forbes of DeLand, Florida, and many cousins in New York, Minnesota, and Italy. Memorial services will be planned for a later date. Memorial gifts may be made to the Nancy Forbes Memorial Fund, Association for Women in Science, at http://bit.ly/NancyForbes; or AWIS, 6181 Grovedale Court, Alexandria VA 22310.