OUGD603 - Research Brief - Women's Impact on Physics

OUGD603

Research Brief

Women's Impact on Physics

Bibliography 
https://gizmodo.com/these-17-women-changed-the-face-of-physics-1689043918
https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2018/strickland/facts/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-41861232
https://www.internationalwomensday.com/Activity/7213/13-Women-in-STEM-Who-Changed-the-World

Donna Strickland 
(1959, Guelph, Ontario, Canada) 
One of only three women to ever recieve the Nobel Prize for Physics.
The sharp beams of laser light have given us new opportunities for deepening our knowledge about the world and shaping it. In 1985, Gérard Mourou and Donna Strickland succeeded in creating ultrashort high-intensity laser pulses without destroying the amplifying material. First they stretched the laser pulses in time to reduce their peak power, then amplified them, and finally compressed them. The intensity of the pulse then increases dramatically. "Chirped pulse amplification" has many uses, including corrective eye surgeries.

Wanda Diaz-Merced
Astrophysicist.
A Nasa internship gave Diaz-Merced the opportunity to work with a method called data sonification. This translated the satellite information from stars that she was studying into sound waves, instead of visual graphs - on which astronomers usually rely heavily.
She would go on to develop this software further, making it possible for astrophysicists to more accurately interpret their data, and making the field accessible to a range of researchers who had previously been excluded.
Diaz-Merced currently works with the South African Office of Astronomy for Development, opening up the world of astronomy to a generation of blind students.

Soyeon Yi
First South Korean Astronaut
In 2008, Soyeon Yi made history by being the first astronaut from South Korea, having competed against 36,000 other candidates to win her spot.
"It's not typical to be the first in history for females," said Yi, confident her success would inspire more women to enter the world of science.

Rajaa Cherkaoui El Moursli
Nuclear Physicist
She's won awards for her role in proving the existence of the Higgs boson, the particle responsible for the creation of mass in the universe.
She's also responsible for setting up the first masters degree in medical physics in Morocco.

Fabiola Gianotti
58 - Particle physicist, Italy.
Fabiola is a particle physicist and became director general of Cern, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, in 2016.

Yuki Okoda
23 - Astronomer, Japan.
Yuki studies physics, and was the first person to discover a new star that could shed light on the origins of our solar system.

Women in STEM 

Peggy Whitson
First science officer aboard the International Space station
Scientists remain a minority in the astronaut corps, with many coming from a military background, but in 1996 Peggy was selected as an astronaut candidate.During her first flight to the International Space Station in 2002, Peggy was named the first science officer aboard the ISS. There was, she says a "cool factor" in sharing this job title with Star Trek's Mr Spock.

Marie Tharp
In 1953, Marie Tharp became the first scientist to map the floor of the Atlantic Ocean.
A geologist and oceanographic cartographer, Tharp's discovery of a rift valley running down the centre of the ocean floor was revolutionary in proving the controversial theory of plate tectonics. Initially, her discovery was dismissed as "girl talk" by her research partner Bruce Heezen. 
As women were not allowed on research vessels, Tharp would painstakingly draw maps from data that Heezen brought back from expeditions. 
Despite her groundbreaking contributions, Tharp remains almost unknown, with Heezen credited for much of their joint work. Tharp knew she worked in the background throughout her career, but she ruled out any resentment and recognised the importance of documenting mid-Atlantic Ridge.

Quarraisha Abdool Karim

Quarraisha Abdool Karim, an infectious disease epidemiologist, has spent over 25 years researching how HIV/Aids is spread in South Africa, and its impact on women.

In 2013, Karim was awarded South Africa's highest honour, the Order of Mapungubwe, for her breakthrough contributions.

She has deeply engaged with women across communities for HIV prevention trials.

Currently, the associate scientific director at Caprisa, Karim has served as an HIV adviser at the United Nations agencies.

Frances Arnold

62 - Professor of chemical engineering, bioengineering and biochemistry, US.

Frances is the recipient of the 2018 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, and her work on enzymes is used in laboratories, making everything from advanced medicines to biofuels and laundry detergents.

Asha de Vos

39 - Marine biologist, Sri Lanka.

Asha works in the area of marine conservation to increase diversity, inclusivity and opportunity in the field

Shrouk El-Attar

26 - Electronic design engineer, Egypt.

Shrouk is a refugee and full-time engineer, who uses belly dancing to raise awareness and campaign for the rights of the LGBT+ community in Egypt.

Gladys West

88 - Mathematician, USA.

Gladys is a former teacher and mathematician whose work has recently been recognised as instrumental in developing GPS.

Katherine Johnson 

(Born 1918)

graduated from university at 18. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015 for a lifetime of work as a pioneering physicist, mathematician and space scientist. She and her colleagues, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson did the calculations that guided NASA’s 1962 Friendship 7 Mission. A teacher and research mathematician, she co-authored over 25 scientific papers

Augusta Ada King

Mathematician

best known for writing the first computer algorithm during her collaboration with Charles Babbage on the Analytical Engine.

Radia Perlman

Internet Pioneer

an early computer scientist and student of MIT in the 60’s she became an internet pioneer, developing the algorithm behind the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP), an innovation that made today’s Internet possible. She also invented TRILL to correct the limitations of STP. A wildly creative thinker, Dr. Perlman even developed a child-friendly programming language used by children as young as 3. She authored a textbook on networking and network security and holds more than 100 issued patents.

Rebecca Cole

MD

Rebecca Cole graduated from medical school in 1867 and became a public health advocate, physician and hygiene reformer in the US. An evidence-based researcher, she took issue with the biased data used to conclude that a lack of hygiene was the cause of inner-city families’ high death rate from consumption. Although few records remain, we know she opened the Women’s Directory Center with Charlotte Abbey, providing medical and legal services to destitute women, was appointed Superintendent of a Home and was the esteemed colleague of the first US-educated female doctor, Elizabeth Blackwell.

Florence Nightingale

Social Reformer, Statistician. 

Florence Nightingale gained fame as “the Lady with the Lamp” for her heroic nursing in the Crimean War. There, she was credited for reducing the death rate from 42% to 2%. She was a visionary designer of hospital systems and pioneered the improvement of sanitation in working-class homes. She is known as the inventor of modern nursing. Her students and trainees became matrons at many hospitals and opened nursing schools of their own. She had a genius for presenting statistical data in graphic form. She developed a proportional pie chart still used today – see the Diagram of the Causes of Mortality. She used these skills to champion better health care at home and abroad.