Barbara Hamilton Reed

Barbara  Reed is known as a trailblazer in the Riverview High School Science Department. Barbara came to Riverview in 1968 and didn't slow down

until her retirement in 1983. Former principal Ed Brown said Barbara was one of the "smartest and best" he had ever hired. A dynamic science teacher, Barbara was admired and respected by both her students and her colleagues for being outstanding and innovative.

Barbara graduated from Lonoke High School in Arkansas (where her father was a State Senator), then received her B.S. degree from LSU. Her Master's degree in Physics came from Purdue University where she was a part of their Honors program. During her early career, she did research, lectured, and taught U.S. Government personnel in Radiation Nuclear Physics and worked in a number of other countries for the U.S. Government.

Barbara's knowledge of Physics was unparalleled. She received a scholarship

from the Atomic Energy Commission to study Radiation at the University of New Mexico. That opportunity enabled Barbara to establish radiation courses when she was hired to teach Physics at Riverview. In addition, her expertise in various

science fields led to the creation of an actual radiation lab and eventually a one- of-a-kind planetarium at Riverview. Barbara also received a National Science

Grant from the Oakridge National Lab Department of Energy in Tennessee. With this Grant, she co-developed the Radiology Lab at Riverview, which was one of

the few schools in the country to receive a hands-on lab for student use.

After teaching at Riverview for 19 years, Barbara retired in 1983 to Orlando and passed away in 2010 in Winter Haven. Barbara was remembered by her students as "brilliant, enthusiastic, innovative, dynamic and caring." She made them want to be the best student they could be. Many felt they learned more in Barbara's high school class than they did in a similar class in college.