Out of the Shadows
Contributions of Twentieth-Century Women to Physics

Authoritative 2006 description of pioneering women who made important contributions to physics from the twentieth century.

Nina Byers (Edited by), Gary Williams (Edited by)

9780521169622, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 25 November 2010

498 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.8 cm, 0.72 kg

Review of the hardback: 'A celebration of 40 women who made lasting contributions to physics … Strong role models for aspiring young physicists, both male and female.' Nature Physics

Why are there so few prominent female physicists? Traditionally women have faced barriers in higher education, denying them access to higher learning and scientific laboratories. Today many of these barriers have been breached, but the female pioneers who overcame discrimination and became major players in their fields remain largely in the shadows. Their names deserve to be known and the importance of their work, achievements and contributions to science warrant recognition. Originally published in 2006, Out of the Shadows provides an accurate and authoritative description of the women who made original and important contributions to physics in the twentieth century, documenting their major discoveries and putting their work into its historical context. Each chapter concentrates on a different woman, and is written by a physicist with considerable experience in their field. The book is an ideal reference for anyone with an interest in science and social history.

Foreword Freeman J. Dyson
Introduction Nina Byers
1. Hertha Aryton 1854–1923 Joan Mason
2. Margaret Maltby 1860–1944 Peggy Kidwell
3. Agnes Pockels 1862–1935 Gary A. Williams
4. Marie Curie 1867–1934 A. Pais
5. Henrietta Leavitt 1868–1921 Jean L. Turner
6. Harriet Brooks 1876–1933 C. W. Wong
7. Lise Meitner 1878-1968 Ruth Lewin Sime
8. Emmy Noether 1882–1935 Nina Byers
9. Inge Lehmann 1888–1993 Bruce A. Bolt
10. Marietta Blau 1894–1970 Leopold Halpern and Maurice M. Shapiro
11. Hertha Sponer 1895–1968 Helmut Rechenberg
12. Irene Joliot-Curie 1897–1956 Hélène Langevin-Joliot and Pierre Radvanyi
13. Katherine Burr Blodgett 1898–1979 Gary A. Williams
14. Cecilia Payne Gaposchkin 1900–1979 Vera C. Rubin
15. Mary Cartwright 1900–1998 Freeman J. Dyson
16. Bertha Jeffreys 1903–1999 Ruth M. Williams
17. Kathleen Yardley Lonsdale1903–1971 Judith Milledge
18. Maria Goeppert Mayer 1906–1972 Steven A. Moszkowski
19. Helen Megaw 1907–2002 A. Michael Glazer and Christine Kelsey
20. Yvette Cauchois 1908–1999 Christiane Bonnelle
21. Marguerite Perey 1909–1975 Jean-Pierre Adloff and George B. Kauffman
22. Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin 1910–1994 Jenny P. Glusker
23. Gertrude Scharff Goldhaber 1911–1998 Alfred Scharff Goldhaber
24. Chien Shiung Wu 1912–1997 Noemie Bencze-Koller
25. Margaret E. Burbidge 1919 Virginia Trimble
26. Phyllis Freier 1921–1992 Cecil J. Waddington
27. Rosalyn S. Yalow 1921 M. S. Dresselhaus and F. A. Stahl
28. Esther Conwell 1922 Lewis Rothberg
29. Cecile Dewitt-Morette 1922 Bryce DeWitt
30. Yvonne Choquet-Bruhat 1923 James W. York Jr.
31. Vera Rubin 1928 Robert J. Rubin
32. Mildred S. Dresselhaus 1930 G. Dresselhaus and F. A. Stahl
33. Myriam Sarachik 1933 Jonathan R. Friedman
34. Juliet Lee-Franzini 1933 Paolo Franzini
35. Helen T. Edwards 1936 John Peoples
36. Mary K. Gaillard 1939 Andreszej Buras
37. Renata Kallosh 1943 Andrei Linde and Michael Gutperle
38. Jocelyn Bell Burnell 1943 Ferdinand V. Coroniti and Gary A. Williams
39. Gail G. Hanson 1947 David G. Cassel
40. San Lan Wu David B. Cline.

Subject Areas: Physics [PH], History of science [PDX], Gender studies: women [JFSJ1]