A devotion to their science : pioneer women of radioactivity

A Devotion to Their Science includes biographical essays on twenty-three women who worked in atomic science during the first two decades of the twentieth century, including Marie Curie, Lise Meitner, Irène Joliot-Curie, and a host of lesser-known women scientists whose life stories have never before been told. The biographies highlight the lives and work of these women, noting their contributions and the challenges they faced and overcame. Taken together the essays record their collective experiences, highlighting the support network that developed among them and the reasons women were more predominant in this field than in other sciences in the early part of this century. By recovering and recording individual and collective histories of the many eminent women in radioactivity whose work had a major impact on the scientific discoveries of the twentieth century, a more complete, gender-integrated view of the history of this fascinating field emerges. Frontmatter Preface (page ix) Acknowledgements (page xi) Foreword (Marianne Ainley, page xii) PART ONE: THE OVERVIEW (page 1) 1. Early Years of Radioactivity (page 3) 2. Pioneer Women of Radioactivity (page 12) PART TWO: THE FRENCH GROUP (page 29) 3. Marie Curie: Time Only for Science and Family (Helena M. Pycior, page 31) 4. Ellen Gleditsch: Professor and Humanist (Anne-Marie Weidler Kubanek and Grete P. Grzegorek, page 51) 5. May Sybil Leslie: From Radioactivity to Industrial Chemistry (page 76) 6. Catherine Chamié: Devoted Researcher of the Institut de Radium (page 82) 7. Stefania Maracineanu: Ignored Romanian Scientist (Miruna Popescu, Marelene F. Rayner-Canham, and Geoffrey W. Rayner-Canham, page 87) 8. Alicia Dorabialska: Polish Chemist (Stephanie Weinsberg-Tekel, page 92) 9. Irène Joliot-Curie: Following in Her Mother's Footsteps (E. Tina Crossfield, page 97) 10. ...And Some Other Women of the French Group (page 124) PART THREE: THE BRITISH GROUP (page 127) 11. Harriet Brooks: From Researcher Pioneer to Wife and Mother (page 129) 12. Fanny Cook Gates: A Promise Unfulfilled (page 138) 13. Jadwiga Szmidt: A Passion for Science (page 145) 14. Ada Hitchins: Research Assistant to Frederick Soddy (page 152) 15. ...And Some Other Women of the British Group (page 156) PART FOUR: THE AUSTRO-GERMAN GROUP (page 161) 16. Lise Meitner: The Foiled Nobelist (Sallie A. Watkins, page 163) 17. Stefanie Horovitz: A Crucial Role in the Discovery of Isotopes (page 192) 18. Marietta Blau: Discoverer of the Cosmic Ray "Stars" (Leopold E. Halpern, page 196) 19. Elizaveta Karamihailova: Bulgarian Pioneer of Radioactivity (Snezha Tsoneva-Matthewson, Marelene F. Rayner-Canham, and Geoffrey W. Rayner-Canham, page 205) 20. Elizabeth Róna: The Polonium Woman (page 209) 21. Ida Tacke Noddack: Proposer of Nuclear Fission (Fathi Habashi, page 217) 22. ...And Some Other Women of the Austro-German Group (page 226) Epilogue: The End of an Era and a New Generation (page 229) Appendix: Dates of Selected Events in the History of Atomic Science (1895-1940) (page 235) Contributors (page 237) Notes (page 239) Index (page 303) This work includes biographical essays on 23 women who worked in atomic science during the first two decades of the 20th century, including Marie Curie, Lise Meitner and Irene Joliot-Curie. Contains 17 full biographies and 6 briefer accounts of most of the early women pioneers in the study of radioactivity.