Women in Chemistry


Book Description

Though rarely noted, women have been active participants in the chemical sciences since the beginning of recorded history. This thought-provoking book brings to life the many talented women who--besides the universally respected Marie Curie--made significant contributions to chemistry. The Rayner-Canhams examine the forces that have defined women's roles in the progress of chemistry, observing that many were thwarted from capitalizing on their achievements by the prejudices of their time. Their book discusses women chemists from as far past as the Babylonian civilization but focuses on professional women chemists from the mid-19th century, when women gained access to higher education. Read this book and learn about the chemist-assistants of the French salons, about independent researchers in the 19th century, about the three disciplinary havens for women in the 20th century, about how war helped bring women into the chemical industry--and much more!




Women in Chemistry


Book Description

Jump into the awesomeness of chemistry! Learn alongside inspirational women chemists whose innovations changed the world. Discover the power of curiosity and resilience through a conversation between a spunky young protagonist, asking questions about the world around her, and a scientifically astute narrator, whose answers are both accurate and understandable to young minds. Women in Chemistry is the perfect place for children to start their own journeys of discovery and wonder.




European Women in Chemistry


Book Description

"I have no dress except the one I wear every day. If you are going to be kind enough to give me one, please let it be practical and dark so that I can put it on afterwards to go to the laboratory", said Marie Curie about her wedding dress. According to her lecture notes, Gertrude B. Elion is quoted a few decades later: "Don't be afraid of hard work. Don't let others discourage you, or tell you that you can't do it. In my day I was told women didn't go into chemistry. I saw no reason why we couldn't." These two quotations from famous, Nobel Prize winning chemists amply demonstrate the challenges that female scientists in the past centuries have had to overcome; challenges that are still sometimes faced by the current generation. They "must have the noblest courage, quite extraordinary talents and superior genius" wrote Carl Friedrich Gauss 1807 in a letter to mathematician Sophie Germain. For the official book to celebrate the International Year of Chemistry, the European Association for Chemical and Molecular Sciences (EuCheMS) has chosen one of the central goals of the International Year: the contribution and role of women in chemistry. This celebration, which is the focus of European Women in Chemistry, takes us on a journey through centuries of chemical research, focusing on the lives of those amazing women from ancient times to the current day who dared to study this subject, often against advice or societal expectations. These portraits emphasize the extraordinary path and personality of these fascinating women, their major contribution to chemistry, but all in the context of their time and social environment. Some of these women, like Marie Curie and Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin, are famous and still well-known today. Others have contributed significantly to the development of science and lived an exceptional life, but are nowadays almost forgotten. This book is a tribute to all of them and a motivation for new generations to come to tread new paths, fight for unusual ideas and control one?s own destiny.




Conversations on Chemistry


Book Description

Bright, humorous and engaging, Marcet's best-selling 1805 book was designed to introduce women to scientific ideas.




Ladies in the Laboratory? American and British Women in Science, 1800-1900


Book Description

A systematic survey and comparison of the work of 19th-century American and British women in scientific research, this book covers the two countries in which women of the period were most active in scientific work and examines all the fields in which they were engaged. The field-by-field examination brings out patterns and concentrations in women's research (in both countries) and allows a systematic comparison of the two national groups. Through this comparison, new insights are provided into how the national patterns developed and what they meant, in terms of both the process of women's entry into research and the contributions they made there. Ladies in the Laboratory? features a specialized bibliography of nineteenth century research journal publications by women, created from the London Royal Society's Catalogue of Scientific Papers, 1800-1900. In addition, 23 illustrations present in condensed form information about American and British women's scientific publications throughout the nineteenth century. This well-organized blend of individual life stories and quantitative information presents a great deal of new data and field-by-field analysis; its broad and methodical coverage will make it a basic work for everyone interested in the story of women's participation in nineteenth century science.




Chemistry Was Their Life: Pioneering British Women Chemists, 1880-1949


Book Description

British chemistry has traditionally been depicted as a solely male endeavour. However, this perspective is untrue: the allure of chemistry has attracted women since the earliest times. Despite the barriers placed in their path, women studied academic chemistry from the 1880s onwards and made interesting or significant contributions to their fields, yet they are virtually absent from historical records.Comprising a unique set of biographies of 141 of the 896 known women chemists from 1880 to 1949, this work attempts to address the imbalance by showcasing the determination of these women to survive and flourish in an environment dominated by men. Individual biographical accounts interspersed with contemporary quotes describe how women overcame the barriers of secondary and tertiary education, and of admission to professional societies. Although these women are lost to historical records, they are brought together here for the first time to show that a vibrant culture of female chemists did indeed exist in Britain during the late 19th and early 20th centuries./a




Women In Their Element: Selected Women's Contributions To The Periodic System


Book Description

2019 celebrated the 150th anniversary of Mendeleev's first publication of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements. This book offers an original viewpoint on the history of the Periodic Table: a collective volume with short illustrated papers on women and their contribution to the building and the understanding of the Periodic Table and of the elements themselves. Few existing texts deal with women's contributions to the Periodic Table. A book on women's work not only helps make historical women chemists more visible; it also sheds light on the multifaceted character of the work on the chemical elements and their periodic relationships. Stories of female input contribute to the understanding of the nature of science, of collaboration as opposed to the traditional depiction of the lone genius.While the discovery of elements is a natural part of this collective work, the book goes beyond discovery histories. Stories of women contributors to the chemistry of the elements also include understanding the concept of element, identifying properties, developing analytical methods, mapping the radioactive series, finding applications of elements, and the participation of women as audiences when new elements were presented at lectures.The book contains chapters on pre-periodic table contributions as well as recent discoveries, unknown stories as well as more famous ones, with an emphasis on work conducted in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Elements from different groups in the periodic table are included, so as to represent a variety of chemical contexts.




African American Women Chemists


Book Description

"Beginning with Dr. Marie Maynard Daly, the first African American woman to receive a PhD in chemistry in the United States--in 1947, from Columbia University--this well researched and fascinating book celebrate the lives and history of African American women chemists. Written by Jeannette Brown, an African American chemist herself, the book profiles the lives of numerous women, ranging from the earliest pioneers up until the late 1960's when the Civil Rights Acts sparked greater career opportunities. Brown examines each woman's motivation to pursue chemistry, describes their struggles to obtain an education and their efforts to succeed in a field in which there were few African American men, much less African American women, and details their often quite significant accomplishments. The book looks at chemists in academia, industry, and government, as well as chemical engineers, whose career path is very different from that of the tradition chemist, and it concludes with a chapter on the future of African American women chemists, which will be of interest to all women interested in a career in science"--




Headstrong


Book Description

Fifty-two inspiring and insightful profiles of history’s brightest female scientists. “Rachel Swaby’s no-nonsense and needed Headstrong dynamically profiles historically overlooked female visionaries in science, technology, engineering, and math.”—Elle In 2013, the New York Times published an obituary for Yvonne Brill. It began: “She made a mean beef stroganoff, followed her husband from job to job, and took eight years off from work to raise three children.” It wasn’t until the second paragraph that readers discovered why the Times had devoted several hundred words to her life: Brill was a brilliant rocket scientist who invented a propulsion system to keep communications satellites in orbit, and had recently been awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. Among the questions the obituary—and consequent outcry—prompted were, Who are the role models for today’s female scientists, and where can we find the stories that cast them in their true light? Headstrong delivers a powerful, global, and engaging response. Covering Nobel Prize winners and major innovators, as well as lesser-known but hugely significant scientists who influence our every day, Rachel Swaby’s vibrant profiles span centuries of courageous thinkers and illustrate how each one’s ideas developed, from their first moment of scientific engagement through the research and discovery for which they’re best known. This fascinating tour reveals 52 women at their best—while encouraging and inspiring a new generation of girls to put on their lab coats.




Forgotten Women: The Leaders


Book Description

**FREE SAMPLER** 'To say this series is "empowering" doesn't do it justice. Buy a copy for your daughters, sisters, mums, aunts and nieces - just make sure you buy a copy for your sons, brothers, dads, uncles and nephews, too.' - indy100 The women who shaped and were erased from our history. The Forgotten Women series will uncover the lost histories of the influential women who have refused over hundreds of years to accept the hand they've been dealt and, as a result, have formed, shaped and changed the course of our futures. The Leaders weaves together 48* unforgettable portraits of the true pioneers and leaders who made huge yet unacknowledged contributions to history, including: Grace O'Malley, the 16th century Irish pirate queen Sylvia Rivera, who spearheaded the modern transgender rights movement Agent 355, the unknown rebel spy who played a pivotal role in the American Revolution Noor Inayat Khan, who went undercover to spy for the French Resistance and became Nazi enemy no. 1 Amina of Zazzau, the formidable ancient Muslim warrior queen of Northern Nigeria Chapters including Rebels; Warriors; Rulers; Activists and Reformers shine a spotlight on the rebellious women who defied the odds, and the opposition, to change the world around them. This free sampler gives you a window into their inspiring yet hidden stories. *The number of Nobel-prize-winning women.