"Throughout history, women have overcome tremendous odds to make lasting contributions to science. In Meeting the Challenge, Magdolna Hargittai shares their stories. For centuries, women scientists have faced seemingly insurmountable barriers to success in their careers. Yet many have excelled in science, achieving some of the most important scientific breakthroughs in history. In her latest book, Magdolna Hargittai discusses over 120 such women scientists. The book details the lives and careers of women scientists from the past and present, from various parts of the world, and representing many different fields, including physics, chemistry, astronomy, mathematics, and medicine.
Among the pioneering women profiled in the book are Nobel laureate and astronomer Andrea M. Ghez, medicinal physicist and Nobel laureate Rosalyn Yalow, Rosalind Franklin, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA, and COVID-19 vaccine pioneer Katalin Karikó. The book also includes vignettes on the ecologist and author of Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, the primatologist Jane M. Goodall, and many others. These women demonstrate that despite the persistent idea that ""science is not for women,"" women can and do succeed in science, even if success often requires courage and perseverance.
Meeting the Challenge presents compelling human stories to inform and entertain readers and encourage those considering careers in science. By detailing the lives and achievements of many of the most important women scientists in history, the book makes a significant contribution to the history of science and provides role models for those interested in pursuing scientific careers."
Foreword (by Eszter Hargittai) Preface Acknowledgments 1 Astronomers Sophia Brahe Maria Cunitz Elisabetha Hevelius Maria Kirch Caroline Herschel Mary Somerville Maria Mitchell Williamina Fleming and the Women of the Harvard Observatory Cecilia Helena Payne-Gaposchkin Nancy Grace Roman Vera C. Rubin Jocelyn Bell Burnell France A. Cordova Andrea M. Ghez 2 Mathematicians Elena Cornaro Piscopia Laura Bassi Maria Gaetana Agnesi Ada Lovelace Sonia Kovalevsky Mileva Mari'c-Einstein Emmy Noether Rózsa Péter Kathleen Ollerenshaw Mary Winston Jackson Karen K. Uhlenbeck Maryam Mirzakhani 3 Physicists The Loneliness of the Woman Physicist The Radium Institute Elisabeth Rona Marietta Blau Elisaveta Karamichailova Berta Karlik Marie Curie Isabella Stone Harriet Brooks Lise Meitner Leona Marshall Libby Maria Goeppert Mayer Antonia F. Prikhotko Chien-Shiung Wu Ruby Payne-Scott and other Australian Female Physicists Rosalyn Yalow Mildred Dresselhaus Donna T. Strickland 4 Crystallographers Kathleen Lonsdale Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin Rosalind Franklin Isabella Karle Pioneers of Data Banks - Barbara Mez-Starck - Olga Kennard Ada Yonath Carolina H. MacGillavry and M.C. Escher Agnes Csanady and Quasicrystals 5 Chemists and Biochemists Gerty Cori Alice Ball Ida Noddack Irène Joliot-Curie Klavdia V. Topchieva Mildred Cohn Gertrude B. Elion Maxine F. Singer Elena G. Galpern Paula Hammond Jennifer A. Doudna and Emanuelle M. Charpentier Lynne E. Maquat Joan A. Steitz Katalin Karikó 6 Biologists and Biomedical Scientists Zinaida V. Ermoleva Barbara McClintock Aleksandra A. Prokofieva-Belgovskaya Rita Levi-Montalcini Frances O. Kelsey Anne McLaren Christiane Nusslein-Volhard Linda B. Buck Françoise Barré-Sinoussi Barbara M.F. Pearse Elizabeth H. Blackburn Carol W. Greider May-Britt Moser 7 Physicians, Surgeons, and Nurses Elizabeth Blackwell Rebecca Lee Crumpler Rebecca Cole Elizabeth Garrett-Anderson Louisa Brandbeth Aldrich-Blake Florence R. Sabin The Moscow Higher Courses for Women Lina S. Stern Medicine Women in London - Annie McCall - Jane Harriet Walker - Elsie Inglis - Lilian Lindsay - Ida Mann - Sheila Sherlock - Margaret Turner-Warwick - Cicely Saunders - Melanie Klein - Anna Freund - Enid Balint - Nancy Rothwell Nurses - Florence Nightingale - Mary Seacole - Theodora Turner 8 Inventors and Technologists Hertha Ayrton Kathrine Blodgett Pioneers in Aviation and Space Travel - Amelia M. Earhart - Amy Johnson - Valentina V. Tereshkova - Svetlana E. Savitskaya - Sally K. Ride - Judith A. Resnik - Kathryn D. Sullivan Frances H. Arnold 9 Ecologists Rachel Carson Miriam Rothschild Ayhan Ulubelen Chulabhorn Mahidol Jane Morris Goodall and Other Primatologists YouYou Tu Notes Name Index
Magdolna Hargittai is a research professor of structural chemistry at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics. She is a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the Academia Europaea (London) and holds a PhD, DSc, and Dr hc. She has researched and taught on the lives and careers of women scientists and is the author of Women Scientists: Reflections, Challenges, and Breaking Boundaries (OUP 2015). Dr. Hargittai and her husband, Istvan, have jointly published extensively on symmetry, science history, and conversations with famous scientists. More recently, they have written on the memorials of scientists in Budapest, New York, Moscow, and London. Dr. Hargittai's books have appeared in English, Hungarian, Russian, German, Swedish, and Korean.
Reviews for Meeting the Challenge: Top Women in Science
This book is accompanied by a comprehensive index and is a fascinating collection of portraits and vignettes of female scientists...Reading about their lives and achievements and contributions to humanity is both a humbling and educational experience. * Arpan K. Banerjee, Hektoen International *
