Maria Goeppert Mayer

Dr. Maria Goeppert Mayer (1906–1972) was a theoretical physicist who revolutionized nuclear physics by developing the nuclear shell model, explaining why certain “magic numbers” of protons and neutrons lead to especially stable atomic nuclei. In 1963, she became only the second woman to win the Nobel Prize in Physics, following Marie Curie.

Born in Kattowitz, Germany (now Katowice, Poland), Mayer moved to the U.S. after completing her doctorate in physics at the University of Göttingen under Max Born in 1930. Despite her credentials, she spent much of her early career in unpaid research roles due to anti-nepotism policies that restricted her from being employed at the same institutions as her husband. She held unpaid appointments at Johns Hopkins, Columbia, and later the University of Chicago.

During World War II, Mayer contributed to the Manhattan Project, working on isotope separation and uranium enrichment. After the war, she joined Argonne National Laboratory, where she conducted her most important work on nuclear structure. Her shell model theory, developed in collaboration with German physicist J. Hans D. Jensen, proposed that protons and neutrons fill energy levels within the nucleus in a manner similar to electrons in atomic orbitals.

In 1960, Mayer was appointed professor of physics at the University of California, San Diego—her first salaried academic position. She remained there until her death in 1972, remembered not only for her scientific achievements but also for breaking institutional barriers facing women in physics.

Awards & Recognition

Nobel Prize in Physics, 1963 (shared with J. Hans D. Jensen)
Member of the National Academy of Sciences
Fellow of the American Physical Society
Namesake of the Maria Goeppert Mayer Award (American Physical Society)
Namesake of the Goeppert Mayer Distinguished Fellowship at Argonne National Laboratory
First woman appointed professor of physics at UC San Diego
Contributed significantly to the Manhattan Project nuclear research

Sources

American Physical Society, “Maria Goeppert Mayer Award”
Argonne National Laboratory, “Maria Goeppert Mayer - Argonne’s Nobel Laureate”
Argonne National Laboratory, “Maria Goeppert Mayer Fellowship”
The Nobel Prize, “Maria Goeppert Mayer”

Published by Nucleation Capital in Brilliant thinkers, History-making, Nuclear innovation, Women in Nuclear, WOMEN IN NUCLEAR GRID

April 1, 2022

Rosalyn Yalow

Rosalyn Yalomw was a nuclear physicist. She developed radioimmunoassay (RIA) together with doctor Solomon Berson. RIA is used to measure small concentrations of substances in the body, such as hormones in the blood. Rosalyn Yalow and Solomon Berson tracked insulin by injecting radioactive iodine into patients' blood. Because the method is so precise, they were able to prove that type 2 diabetes is caused by the body's inefficient use of insulin. Previously it was thought that the disease was caused by a lack of insulin.

Dr. Yalow received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1977 together with Roger Guillemin and Andrew V. Schally. In response to this, Dr. Yalow wrote a biographical essay about her life, influences, work experience and partnerships with other researchers. It is a very beautifully-written and impressive and moving history and it was published on the Nobel Prize website. She describes for example, "hanging from the rafters in Room 301 of Pupin Laboratories (a physics lecture room at Columbia University) when Enrico Fermi gave a colloquium in January 1939 on the newly discovered nuclear fission."

In another phase of her life, while being newly married and taking two background undergraduate classes, three graduate courses in physics, serving as a half-time assistant teacher, as well as being an observer of another instructor so as to improve her own teaching skill, she received straight As in two of her classes and an A- in one. In response, the Chairman of the Physics development told her "That A- confirms that women do not do well as laboratory work."

Awards & Honors

Awarded the title of Distinguished Service Professor at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Member of the National Academy of Sciences
Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award
A. Cressy Morrison Award in Natural Sciences of the N.Y. Academy of Sciences
Scientific Achievement Award of the American Medical Association
Koch Award of the Endocrine Society
Gairdner Foundation International Award
American College of Physicians Award for distinguished contributions in science as related to medicine
Eli Lilly Award of the American Diabetes Association
First William S. Middleton Medical Research Award of the VA and five honorary doctorates
Nobel Prize winner 1977

Source:

Nobel Prize Organization: The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1977 — Rosalyn Yalow Biographical

Published by editor in Brilliant thinkers, History-making, Nuclear R&D, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Women in Nuclear, WOMEN IN NUCLEAR GRID

February 20, 2020

Rosalind Franklin

Rosalind Franklin was a chemist and X-ray crystallographer who is best known for her work on the structure of DNA, RNA, and coal. She also performed cutting-edge research on the molecular structure of viruses that cause plant and human diseases.

Franklin was born in London, England in 1920. She studied physical chemistry at Newnham Women’s College at the University of Cambridge. During World War II, Franklin researched the physical chemistry of coal and carbon under the British Coal Utilisation Research Association. By studying the porosity of coal, she concluded that substances were expelled in order of molecular size as temperature increased. This work was important for accurately classifying and predicting coal performance for fuel and wartime production and served as her Ph.D. thesis.

After the war, Franklin accepted a position as a research fellow at King’s College London. During this time, she investigated DNA samples. She took clear x-ray diffraction photos of DNA and was able to conclude that the forms had two helices. Her work–specifically her image Photo 51–was the foundation of James Watson and Francis Crick’s discovery that the structure of DNA was a double-helix polymer, for which she was not cited or credited.

Afterward, she continued working with x-ray diffraction photos of viruses at the J.D. Bernal’s crystallography laboratory at Birkbeck College and collaborated with virus researchers from around the world. She studied RNA of the tobacco mosaic virus and contributed to published works on cucumber virus 4 and turnip yellow mosaic virus.

During her career, she published 19 articles on coal and carbons, 21 on viruses, and 5 on DNA.

Awards & Recognition

1935 – Received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of artificial radioactivity (with Frederic Joliot-Curie)
1940 – Received the Barnard Gold Medal for Meritorious Service to Science (with Frederic Joliot-Curie)
Was an Officer of the Legion of Honour.

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Source: Versant Physics, "The Seven Most Influential Women in Radiation History."

Published by editor in Brilliant thinkers, History-making, Nuclear R&D, Women in Nuclear, WOMEN IN NUCLEAR GRID

February 20, 2010

Irene Joliot-Curie

Irene Joliot-Curie (1897 - 1956) was a chemist and physicist known for her work on natural and artificial radioactivity, transmutation of elements, and nuclear physics.

She was born in Paris, France in 1897 to Marie Skłodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie. She studied chemistry at the Radium Institute and completed her Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Paris. Her doctoral thesis focused on radiation emitted by polonium.

During World War I, Irene worked alongside her mother on the battlefield as a nurse radiographer. For a time, she also taught doctors how to locate shrapnel in soldiers using radiological equipment.

Alongside her husband, chemical engineer Frederic Joliot, Irene studied atomic nuclei. Together they were the first to calculate the accurate mass of the neutron and discovered that radioactive elements can be artificially produced from stable elements. The pair shared the 1935 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering the first artificially-created radioactive atoms, which had practical applications in radiochemistry, specifically in medicine and the treatment of thyroid diseases. In addition, her research on the action of neutrons on heavy elements was an important step in the discovery of nuclear fission.

Outside of her research, Irene was the Chair of Nuclear Physics at the Sorbonne and a Professor in the Faculty of Science in Paris. Beginning in 1946 she served as the director of the Radium Institute and was instrumental in the design of the Institute of Nuclear Physics in Orsay, France. She died in 1956 of leukemia, likely a result of her work with polonium-210. Her daughter, Hélène Langevin-Joliot (1927-present), is a retired professor of nuclear physics and third generation of Curie women working in nuclear science.

Awards & Recognition

1935 – Received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of artificial radioactivity (with Frederic Joliot-Curie)
1940 – Received the Barnard Gold Medal for Meritorious Service to Science (with Frederic Joliot-Curie)
Was an Officer of the Legion of Honour.

Sources:
Versant Physics, "The Seven Most Influential Women in Radiation History."
DOE Office of Nuclear Energy, "5 Women Who Changed History in Nuclear Science," March 24, 2023.

Published by editor in Brilliant thinkers, History-making, Nuclear R&D, Women in Nuclear, WOMEN IN NUCLEAR GRID