Florence Bascom was the first woman and first female geologist to be awarded a Ph. D. from Johns Hopkins University, although as a woman, she could not officially attend classes there.
In 1896, Florence Bascom became the first woman scientist to be hired at the United States Geological Survey (USGS), and became a pioneer of the use of microscopes in the study of minerals and rocks.
In 1906, Florence Bascom traveled to Germany to study the research process of petrology, which is the origin, history, occurance, structure, chemical composition, and classification of rocks. She used this recently acquired knowledge to help understand how the Appalachian mountain range had been formed.
Dr. Bascom taught 
geology at Bryn Mawr College for 33 years.
It was there that Dr. Bascom trained and influenced most of the women geologists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
This helped to establish her permanent impact on the future of geological research in the United States.
A quote was found from Dr. Bascom following her death in 1945 that stated: "The fascination of any search after the truth lies not in the attainment...but in the pursuit, where all the powers of the mind and character are brought into play and are absorbed by the task. One feels oneself in contact with something that is infinite and one finds joy that is beyond expression in sounding the abyss of science and the secrets of the infinite mind."
