Women in Chemistry

Women in Chemistry
Author: Marelene F. Rayner-Canham
Publisher: Chemical Heritage Foundation
Total Pages: 308
Release: 1998
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9780941901277

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

Women in Chemistry
Author: Mary Wissinger
Publisher: Science Wide Open
Total Pages: 40
Release: 2021-01-07
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 9781938492310

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

European Women in Chemistry
Author: Jan Apotheker
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 299
Release: 2011-04-27
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3527636463

"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

Conversations on Chemistry
Author: Jane Haldimand Marcet
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 414
Release: 2010-10-31
Genre: History
ISBN: 1108016839

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

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

Chemistry Was Their Life: Pioneering British Women Chemists, 1880-1949
Author: Geoffrey Rayner-canham
Publisher: World Scientific
Total Pages: 561
Release: 2008-10-23
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1908978996

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

Pioneering British Women Chemists: Their Lives And Contributions

Pioneering British Women Chemists: Their Lives And Contributions
Author: Marelene Rayner-canham
Publisher: World Scientific
Total Pages: 602
Release: 2019-12-30
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1786347709

'The book neatly illuminates a forgotten history of female chemists — and this is not an overstatement. It contains a multitude of names, events and socio-economic interactions in the pursuit of women's education and professional emancipation that are guaranteed to contain stories that readers will not have heard before … It is easily a dip-in and dip-out type of read, allowing simple navigation to specific areas of Britain, disciplines and professions … Besides highlighting the women who fought against an inherently male-dominated system and celebrating their supporters, this book also examines the events and the history surrounding their lives and endeavours. It pays particular note to the nations of the British Isles and gives equal contribution to those lost in history as to those names we are all so familiar with. A fantastic resource that has been excellently researched, I am sure it will remain an ageless tribute and reference work.'Education in ChemistryHistorically, British chemistry has been perceived as a solely male endeavour. However, this perception is untrue: the allure of chemistry has attracted British women for centuries past. In this new book, the authors trace the story of women's fascination with chemistry back to the amateur women chemists of the late 1500s. From the 1880s, pioneering academic girls' schools provided the knowledge base and enthusiasm to enable their graduates to enter chemistry degree programs at university. The ensuing stream of women chemistry graduates made interesting and significant contributions to their fields, yet they have been absent from the historical record.In addition to the broad picture, the authors focus upon the life and contributions of some of the individual women chemists who were determined to survive and flourish in their chosen field. From secondary school to university to industry, some of the women chemists expressed their sentiments and enthusiasm in chemistry verse. Examples of their poetic efforts are sprinkled throughout to give a unifying theme from grade school to university and industrial employment. This book provides a well-researched glimpse into the forgotten world of British women in chemistry up to the 1930s and 1940s.

Allies of Pioneering Women Chemists

Allies of Pioneering Women Chemists
Author: Marelene Rayner-Canham
Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry
Total Pages: 171
Release: 2024-09-13
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1837674949

Continuing their research uncovering the lives of women chemists at the turn of the 20th Century, Geoff and Marelene Rayner-Canham have turned their attention to some of the male chemists who enabled women to thrive in chemistry. This book provides an insight into the character of 14 male chemists and their female students. Using contemporary quotes, the authors build an interesting narrative, demonstrating how the support and encouragement of their students was reciprocated with significant contributions to their fame and research. Beyond the lives of individuals, readers will explore a period of social change in chemistry, not only the acceptance of co-educational teaching, but also the development of domestic chemistry as a subject. Significantly, this period also saw the acceptance of women into the Chemical Society, championed by several of the men featured.