Mary L. Boas

Mary L. Boas
Born	1917
Died	February 17, 2010 Seattle, Washington
Nationality	American
Alma mater	University of Washington Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Occupation	Mathematician and physicist
Employer	DePaul University
Known for	Author of Mathematical Methods in the Physical Sciences
Spouse(s)	Ralph P. Boas, Jr.
Children	Harold P. Boas

Mary Layne Boas (1917–2010) was an American mathematician and physics professor best known as the author of Mathematical Methods in the Physical Sciences (1966), an undergraduate textbook that is still widely used in college classrooms.

She received a bachelor's degree (1938) and a master's degree (1940) in mathematics at the University of Washington, and a Ph.D. (1948) in physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She taught physics at DePaul University in Chicago for thirty years, retiring in 1987 to return to Washington. Prior to her time at DePaul University, she served as an instructor in the mathematics department at Duke University.

In 2005, at the age of 88, Boas published the third edition of her textbook. She established the Mary L. Boas Endowed Scholarship at the University of Washington in 2008 to recognize outstanding academic achievements by female students in physics.

Mary Boas was married to mathematician Ralph P. Boas, Jr. Her son, Harold P. Boas, is also a noted mathematician. She died on February 17, 2010, at her home near Seattle, Washington.