Maria Goeppert Mayer: A Scientific Biography

[9320203]约翰逊做一个成功的科学家是非常困难的。一个人必须有智慧来掌握极难的材料，有创造力来解决困扰本学科最优秀人才的问题，有毅力在实验室或实地工作中长时间追求领先，有雄心来击败竞争对手，还有智慧（那些不了解科学如何运作的人称之为“运气”）来抓住碰巧出现在自己身上的机会。这些特质是任何科学家都必须具备的。然而，女性科学家需要额外的品质才能成功。她们面临着阻碍她们成功的社会、文化和性别偏见。这个问题不仅仅是女性进入一个男性占主导地位的领域的问题，尽管男性同事在女性科学家的道路上设置了障碍。社会传统和要求提供了额外的障碍：已婚妇女传统上在家庭中有男性同行没有承担的额外负担；作为母亲的妇女负有养育子女的主要责任；社会不喜欢有这种特征的女性。雄心是在科学上取得成功所必需的。不幸的是，对从事科学的妇女的研究过于频繁地集中在妇女面临的问题的社会方面，而没有综合科学方面的困难，或者这些研究集中在技术科学问题上，而没有充分了解其社会组成部分。约翰逊博士是少有的既了解这些问题的社会方面又了解这些问题的科学方面的人。约翰逊博士正在研究1963年诺贝尔核物理奖得主玛丽亚·戈珀特·梅耶。梅耶尔不仅在核物理学，而且在原子、化学和分子物理学方面都做出了广泛的贡献。她嫁给了化学家约瑟夫·e·梅尔（Joseph E. Mayer），他们对彼此的科学研究产生了巨大的影响。约翰逊博士讲述了玛丽亚·戈珀特·梅耶的科学贡献，她作为一名女性在20世纪物理学领域的经历，以及她的婚姻在她的职业生涯中所扮演的角色。＊＊＊

9320203 Johnson Being a successful scientist is extraordinarily difficult: one must have the intelligence to master extremely difficult material, the creativity to come up with solutions to problems which vex the best minds in your discipline, the stamina to pursue leads in long hours of research in laboratories or in field work, the ambition to beat out one's competitors, and the wisdom (called "luck" by those who fail to understand how science works) to seize opportunities which fortuitously come ones way. These traits are required for any scientist. Women scientists, however, need additional qualities to be successful. They face social, cultural and gender biases that militate against their success. This problem is not just the problem of women entering a predominately male field, though male colleagues have placed barriers in the path of women scientists. Social traditions and demands provide additional barriers: married women traditionally have extra burdens at home that their male counterparts do not carry; women who are mothers have primary child-rearing responsibilities; and society frowns on women with the traits (eg. ambition) necessary to be a success in science. Unfortunately, studies of women in science too frequently concentrate on the social aspects of the problems women face without integrating the scientific difficulties or these studies concentrate on the technical scientific problems without adequately understanding the social components. Dr. Johnson is the rare individual who understands both the social and the scientific aspects of these issues. Dr. Johnson is studying Maria Goeppert Mayer, Nobel laureate in nuclear physics in 1963. Mayer made extensive contributions not just in nuclear physics, but also atomic, chemical and molecular physics. She was married to the chemist Joseph E. Mayer, and their influence on each other's science was substantial. Dr. Johnson is addressing Maria Goeppert Mayer's scientific contributions, her experience as a woman in 20th century physics, and the role her marriage played in her career. ***