WOMEN IN SCIENCE A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE YOLANDA B. HOUZE JULY 4, 2011 OBJECTIVES To take a historical journey to review the role of women in science To visit some of the women who made great contributions during their lives To look at how legislation has affected the role of women in science To look at the current issues of women in science Natural Philosophers Grammar Rhetoric Logic Mathematics Geometry Music Astronomy Early Natural Philosophers Merit Ptah Merit Ptah, Egyptian—2700 BCE Physician First woman known by name in the history of science En Hedu’Anna En Hedu’Anna—Babylon (Iraq), 2300-2225 BCE Astronomer—Priestess of the Moon Goddess Earliest known author and poet Revered as the most important religious figure of her day "The true woman who possesses exceeding wisdom, She consults [employs] a tablet of lapis lazuli She gives advice to all lands... She measures off the heavens, She places the measuring-cords on the earth." Lei-Tzu Lei-Tzu (Si Ling-Chi), Empress of China 2640 BCE First Empress of China Developed the process to remove silk from cocoons Established silk cultivation farms Penthesilea Penthesilea, Greece, 1187 BCE Warrior “Queen of the Amazons” Killed in the Trojan War Inventor of the Battle Axe Sondok Sondok—Korean, 630 C.E. Astronomer Built the observatory called “Tower of the Moon and Sun” Theano Theano— Italian, 546 BCE Wife of Pythagorus Mathematician Was the head of Pythagorus’ school Said to have authored the treatise on the Golden Mean Hypatia Hypatia—Egyptian, 355-415 BC Daughter of Theon Taught mathematics and natural philosophy in Alexandria Father told her,” Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than to not think at all.” Pan Chao Pan Chao (Ban Zhao)—Chinese,45-116 CE First known female Chinese Historian Imperial scholar of Emperor Ho of China Official court historian, librarian and teacher Interested in astronomy and mathematics Wrote the Lessons for Women Lilavati Lilavati—Indian, 12th Century Natural philosopher Mathematician Nor Mahal Nor Mahal—Indian, 17th Century Inventor Aunt of Queen Mumtaz Mahal Invented distilling device to make perfume Credited with the invention for method of weaving cashmere shawls Scientists and Engineers Laura Maria Caterina Bassl Laura Maria Caterina Bassl—Italian, 1711-1778 Philosopher First woman to officially teach at a college in Europe Taught courses in Newtonian physics Published 28 papers on physics and hydraulics Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale—English, 1820-1910 Nurse—established the first secular nursing school at St. Thomas Hospital in London in 1860 Writer—published texts on nursing which provided guidance to all who entered that profession Statistician– a keen mathematician who was influenced by her father. She was a pioneer in the development of visual presentation of statistics—polar area diagram. Angelina Fannie Hess American, 1850-1934 Homemaker--1881, Germany, used agar-agar, an extract of seaweed, to develop a substance that bacteria could grow on Instrumental for the advancement of bacteriology and still used today Emmy Noether Emmy Noether—German, 1882-1935 Mathematician Founder of abstract algebra Colleague of Albert Einstein Developed Noether’s Theorem—the foundation of quantum physics “the most significant creative mathematical genius thus far produced since the higher education of women began.”—Albert Einstein Nobel Prize Marie Sklodowska Curie Marie Sklodowska Curie—Polish, 1867-1934 She developed methods for the separation of radium from radioactive residues Physicist—won the Nobel Prize for physics in 1903 Won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911 Irene Joliot-Curie Irene Joliet-Curie—French, 1897-1956 Radiochemist Discovered artificial radiation Daughter of Marie and Pierre Curie Won Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1935 Gerty Radnitz Cori Gerty Radnitz Cori—Czechoslovakian, 1896-1957 Biochemist Married Carl Cori and together pioneered the study of enzymes and hormones Discovered how cells convert food into energy—the Cori Cycle Enzyme deficiencies studies led to studies in inherited disorders Shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with her husband in 1947 Maria Goeppert Mayer Maria Goeppert Mayer—German, 1906-1972 Mathematical Physicist Specialized in Quantum Mechanics Won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1963 for her work on the structure of the nuclear shell Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin—English, 1910-1994 Physical Chemist/Crystallographer Used X-ray crystallography to determine the structure of penicillin during World War II Later discovered the structure of vitamin B12 and insulin Won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1964 Rosalyn Sussman Yalow Rosalyn Sussman Yalow—American, 1921-2011 Medical Physicist Developed the method for doing radioimmunoassays Furthered the field of neuroendocrinology Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1977 Barbara McClintock Barbara McClintock—American, 1902-1992 Geneticist, whose research was on the genetics of corn Won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1983 for her work on transposable genes Rita Levi-Montalcini Rita Levi-Montalcini—Italian, 1909 Neuroembyologist Durine Mussolini’s dictatorship she did her earliest research in a make-shift laboratory in a bedroom of her house Discovered nerve growth factor with Stanley Cohen Shared the Nobel Prize with Cohen in 1986 Gertrude Belle Elion Gertrude Belle Elion—American, 1918-1999 Biochemist Discovered drugs used to treat childhood leukemia Made organ transplants possible with the discovery of acyclovir Helped to develop AZT—the drug used to treat HIV infections Won the Nobel prize for physiology and medicine in 1988 Christiane Nusslein-Vollhard Christiane Nusslein-Vollhard—German, 1942 Developmental Biologist Asked and answered the question, “How does a single cell develop into a complex living being?” Discovered that part of the same gene can code for more than one thing Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1995—first German woman to win the Nobel prize in science Lillian Moller Gilbreth Lillian Moller Gilbreth—American, 1878-1972 Psychologist and Industrial Engineer One of the first working female engineers with a PhD Expert on motion study and human factors She did research on fatigue studies which was the forerunner of ergonomics Patented kitchen appliances such as the food mixer and the trash can with automatic lid opener Lise Meitner Lise Meitner—Austrian, 1878-1968 Nuclear Physicist Director of the Center for Radiation Physics in Berlin—19191939 Studied with Max Plank Worked with Otto Hahn Studied radioactivity Discovered protactinium Did experiments which provided the evidence for nuclear fission Elizabeth Hazen and Rachel Brown Elizabeth Hazen and Rachel Brown—American, New York State Department of Health, 1949 Worked together to develop the antifungal, nystatin Nystatin is used in the treatment of candidiasis and other fungal infections. Rosalind Franklin Rosalind Franklin—English, 1920-1958 Physical Chemist Did extensive work to understand coal and carbon— advanced the science of high-strength carbon fibers Studied X-ray crystallography in order to understand matter Pioneered the use of X-ray diffraction Was the first to recognize the helical nature of DNA Chien Shiung Wu Chien Shiung Wu—Chinese, 1912-1997 Physicist 1957-disproved the law of parity Nobel Prize won by her co-workers Lee and Yang but not Wu. Once commented, “Men have always dominated the fields of science and technology. Look what an environmental mess we are in.” Alma Whiffen Alma Whiffen—American, 1916-1981 Mycologist Isolated Streptomyces griseus and from this derived cyclohexamide, a plant fungicide Joanne Simpson Joanne Simpson—American, 1923-2010 First woman to receive her PhD in meteorology With Howard Riehl proposed the “hot tower” hypothesis in 1958 Won the Carl-Gustaf Rosby award—the highest honor bestowed by the American Meteorological Association Li Fanghua Li Fanghua—Chinese, 1932 Physicist Professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences Specialist in Electron Microscopy Her work helped to advance the observation of crystaline structures First Chinese woman scientist to receive the L’Oreal-UNESCO award. Margaret Chan Fung Fu-chun Margaret Chan Fung Fu-chun—Chinese, 1947 Director General of the World Health Organization Physician First female to head the Hong Kong Department of Health Laws and Regulations International Law United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, 1946 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women—New York, December 1979 Title IX and Title XV Title XV of the Education Amendments of 1972 A United States law that amended the Title IX of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance…” Pre Title IX Many schools and universities had separate entrances for male and female students Most medical schools limited the number of females accepted to 15 or fewer per school Many schools required women to have better entrance exam scores than men Women faculty members were excluded from faculty clubs Pre Title IX 1973, 43% of female high school graduates were enrolled in college 1971, 18% of young women and 26% of young men completed four years of college 1972, women received 9% of medical degrees and 1% of dental degrees 1971, women earned 7% of the law degrees Post Title IX 1994, 64% of female high school graduates were enrolled in college 1994, 27% of young women and young men completed four years of college 1994, women received 38% of medical degrees and 38% of dental degrees 1994, women earned 43% of the law degrees 1966-2007 1958-2006 1978-2007 Today’s Woman Scientist Washington State Public Health Laboratories Seattle, Washington Microbiology Laboratory Women in Microbiology—24 women, of those 9 are from other countries Latha—India Dolores—Phillipines Nusrat—Pakistan Ailyn-Venezuela Julie-Taiwan Mi-Korea Alla-Ukraine Phu-Viet Nam Ramazani-Congo Summary Women have played a major role in science since time began Most women in science received encouragement to pursue their careers from family members or teachers and professors Sometimes it take changes in laws to make changes in society Women will continue to have a significant impact on science despite the many roles they play Hypatia Hypatia—Egyptian, 355-415 BC ” Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than to not think at all.” Questions?