The Posthumous Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Volume 2. Ladies in Wai

343 Pages·2017·127.248 MB·English

by  Mainz, Vera V., Strom, E. Thomas

The Posthumous Nobel Prize in
Chemistry. Volume 2.
Ladies in Waiting for the Nobel Prize

1311
ACS SYMPOSIUM SERIES
The Posthumous Nobel Prize in
Chemistry. Volume 2.
Ladies in Waiting for the Nobel Prize
Vera V. Mainz, Editor
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Urbana, Illinois
E. Thomas Strom, Editor
University of Texas at Arlington
Arlington, Texas
Sponsored by the
ACSDivisionoftheHistoryofChemistry
AmericanChemicalSociety,Washington,DC
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Names:Mainz,VeraV.,editor.|Strom,E.Thomas,editor.|American
ChemicalSociety.DivisionoftheHistoryofChemistry.
Title:TheposthumousNobelPrizeinchemistryVolume2.
LadiesinWaitingfortheNobelPrize/VeraV.Mainz,editor,
UniversityofIllinoisatUrbana-Champaign,Urbana,Illinois,/
E.ThomasStrom,editor,UniversityofTexasatArlington,Arlington,Texas;
sponsoredbytheACSDivisionoftheHistoryofChemistry.
Description:Washington,DC:AmericanChemicalSociety,[2018]|Series:ACS
symposiumseries;1262,1311|Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
Identifiers:LCCN2017044852(print)|LCCN2017047783(ebook)|ISBN
9780841232501(ebook,v.1)|ISBN 9780841233904(ebook,v.2)|
ISBN9780841232518(v.1)|ISBN9780841233911(v.2)
Subjects:LCSH:Chemistry--Awards--History.|NobelPrizes--History.|Nobel
Prizewinners.
Classification:LCCQD39.2(ebook)|LCCQD39.2.P672017(print)|DDC
540.79--dc23
LCrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2017044852
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Contents
Preface.............................................................................................................................. ix
1. WomenScientists:AnUphillBattleforRecognition ........................................... 1
MagdolnaHargittai
2. Politics,Persecution,andthePrize: LiseMeitnerandtheDiscoveryof
NuclearFission ....................................................................................................... 33
RuthLewinSime
3. MarjoryStephenson:FounderofMicrobialBiochemistry ............................... 53
M.F.Rayner-CanhamandG.W.Rayner-Canham
4. MariettaBlau:ANearbutJustifiableMiss? ...................................................... 67
VirginiaTrimble
5. IdaNoddack:ForetellerofNuclearFission ...................................................... 105
JamesL.Marshall
6. TheRemarkableLifeandWorkofKatharineBurrBlodgett(1898–1979) .... 151
MargaretE.Schott
7. ErikaCremerandtheOriginsofGas–SolidAdsorptionChromatography,
1944–1947.............................................................................................................. 183
JeffreyAllanJohnson
8. DameKathleenLonsdale:Scientist,Pacifist,PrisonReformer ...................... 199
MaureenM.JulianandMaryVirginiaOrna
9. RachelCarson: TheRightPerson,attheRightTime,withtheRight
Message ................................................................................................................. 217
AmandaHofackerCoffman
10. MargueritePerey(1909–1975):DiscovererofFrancium ................................ 245
SarahS.Preston
11. RosalindFranklin:HerPathwaytoDNA ......................................................... 265
BurtronH.DavisandE.ThomasStrom
12. IsabellaKarle:CrystallographerParExcellence ............................................. 283
LouMassa
vii
13. MargheritaHack:FriendoftheStars ............................................................... 295
MarcoFontaniandMaryVirginiaOrna
14. ProfessorEmeritaDarleaneChristianHoffman:DeterminationWins ......... 311
CarolineF.V.Mason
Editors’Biographies .................................................................................................... 319
Indexes
AuthorIndex ................................................................................................................ 323
SubjectIndex................................................................................................................ 325
viii
Preface
Shedidn’twriteit. Butifit’sclearshedidthedeed,. . .
Shewroteit, butsheshouldn’thave. (It’spolitical, sexual, masculine,
feminist.)
Shewroteit,butlookwhatshewroteabout. (Thebedroom,thekitchen,
herfamily. Otherwomen!)
Shewroteit,butshewroteonlyoneofit. (JaneEyre. Poordear,that’s
allsheever. . .)
Shewroteit,butsheisn’treallyanartist,anditisn’treallyart. (It’sa
thriller,aromance,achildren’sbook. It’sScifi!)
Shewroteit,butshehadhelp. (RobertBrowning. BranwellBrontë. Her
own“masculineside.”)
Shewroteit,butshe’sananomaly. (Woolf. WithLeonard’shelp. . .)
Shewroteit,BUT(1,2). . .
Thesymposiumonwhichthisbookisbasedoriginatedafteroneofus(Tom
Strom)organizedasuccessfulAmericanChemicalSociety(ACS)symposiumin
March2016,onthePosthumousNobelPrizeinChemistry. Afterward,theother
of us (Vera Mainz) pointed out that the chemists represented in that symposium
anditssubsequentsymposiumvolumewere“alldeadwhiteguys.”
The fact that only white men were included in the first symposium partly
reflects the prevailing past (and continuing) gender imbalance in chemistry,
but it also shows the power of the Matilda effect, first articulated by Matilda
Joslyn Gage (Figure 1) (1826–1898) (3). The Matilda effect is an implicit bias
against acknowledging the achievements of women scientists, whose work is
oftenattributedtotheirmalecolleagues(4). Animplicitbiasisonewhichisnot
consciousordeliberate,butneverthelessreal.
The gender imbalance in the previous symposium was also noted in the
on-line comments for the Chemical and Engineering News article that reported
on it (6). Redressing that imbalance was the purpose of the current symposium
entitled “Ladies in Waiting for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Overlooked
Accomplishments of Women Chemists.” This symposium, which took place in
August2017,wassponsoredbytheACSHistoryofChemistryDivision(HIST),
theWomenChemistsCommittee(WCC),andACSPresidentAllisonCampbell.
As we began to organize the symposium, the primary question was which
womenshouldbethesubjectoftalks. Two,LiseMeitnerandRosalindFranklin,
were mentioned in the on-line commentary in Chem. Eng. News and we fully
agreedthattheyshouldbeincludedinthesymposium. LiseMeitner,astheEditor
ix