by Although there has been a movement of expansion of opportunities for women in science over the last few centuries, the majority of fields of science have been historically dominated by males. This is especially the case in societies hundreds of years ago that diminished women’s roles in society and uplifted a patriarchal society. Against all odds, however, there have been standout women scientists in history that had significant and breakthrough findings in the scientific community. Maria Goeppert Mayer, for example, made groundbreaking discoveries in science, while fighting against discrimination and bias directed at her from the community. Mayer’s career represents her role in breaking barriers within gender discrimination in the scientific world.
Maria Goeppert Mayer was born in Germany in 1906. She grew up in a family with a long history in scientists and was encouraged at a young age to pursue her dreams, beyond the communal standards of a housewife. Goeppert Mayer was extremely well educated by her family, and as a result, was accepted into a prestigious university in Germany to study physics. She moved to the United States after college to pursue a science career with her husband. After working volunteer jobs at Johns Hopkins University and Columbia University, Goeppert Mayer obtained a part-time job at University of Chicago Institute for Nuclear Studies. In Germany and the United States, Goeppert Mayer had great difficulty finding jobs throughout her career regardless of her impressive record. Many of the times, she worked for no pay and used the platform to continue her research. At University of Chicago, she worked “on a project to determine the origin of the elements” ( aps.org). From her research, she discovered a successful structure to the nuclear shell model. Scientists, at the time, were convinced that an accurate nuclear shell model was not possible, however, Goeppert Mayer found evidence of accuracy through her design of the model. Goeppert Mayer published her findings in June 1949 and received the Nobel Piece Prize in 1963 for her work. She is the second woman to ever win the Nobel Piece Prize for physics and remains as the last woman physicist to be awarded with it. Her work was extremely important for the development of physics and was a major stepping-stool for future physics experimental work. Goeppert Mayor finally received a full time job as a professor at University of California, San Diego following her Nobel Piece Prize.
Like so many other female scientists in this time period and in previous time periods, Maria Goeppert Mayer struggled to find her place in the scientific community even though she had the qualifications to be a contributing factor. Physics was a male-dominated scientific field, although this did not stop Goeppert Mayor from succeeding and rising to the peak of her field. Because of her brilliant work and inspiring drive to strive through barriers, Goeppert Mayor helped to further the expansion of women’s presence in physics and other scientific fields. Maria Goeppert Mayer’s career, like so many other women scientists, served as a wake up call to members of society who doubted women’s value and role in science.
Sources:
https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/200808/physicshistory.cfm
https://www.atomicheritage.org/profile/maria-goeppert-mayer