Maria Goeppert Mayer: A Scientific Biography

9320203约翰逊成为一名成功的科学家是非常困难的：一个人必须有掌握极其困难的材料的智慧，必须有提出解决问题的创造力，必须有在实验室或野外工作的长时间研究中追求领先的耐力，必须有击败竞争对手的雄心，必须有抓住偶然到来的机会的智慧(那些不了解科学是如何工作的人称之为“运气”)。这些品质是任何科学家都必须具备的。然而，女科学家需要额外的素质才能取得成功。他们面临着社会、文化和性别偏见，这些偏见阻碍了他们的成功。这个问题不仅仅是女性进入一个以男性为主的领域的问题，尽管男性同事在女性科学家的道路上设置了障碍。社会传统和需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的额外负担；作为母亲的妇女负有主要的育儿责任；以及社会对具有这种特征的妇女皱眉(例如。雄心壮志)在科学上取得成功所必需的。不幸的是，对科学界妇女的研究往往集中在妇女面临的问题的社会方面，而没有综合考虑科学困难，或者这些研究集中在技术科学问题上，而没有充分了解社会组成部分。约翰逊博士是少有的同时了解这些问题的社会和科学方面的人。约翰逊博士正在研究1963年诺贝尔核物理学奖得主玛丽亚·戈珀特·梅耶尔。梅耶尔不仅在核物理方面做出了广泛的贡献，而且在原子、化学和分子物理方面也做出了广泛的贡献。她嫁给了化学家约瑟夫·E·梅耶尔，他们对彼此的科学产生了重大影响。约翰逊博士讲述了玛丽亚·戈珀特·梅耶尔的科学贡献，她作为女性在20世纪物理学中的经历，以及她的婚姻在她的职业生涯中所起的作用。***

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. ***