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THU: Thursday Contributed Sessions

THU 3: Arbeitskreis Chancengleichheit (AKC)

THU 3.2: Invited Talk

Thursday, September 11, 2025, 14:45–15:15, ZHG003

Women in the History of Quantum Physics — •Margriet van der Heijden — Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), The Netherlands

The narratives of the development of quantum mechanics are as “male-dominated” as this subfield of science itself, science historian Massimiliano Badino noted some nine years ago. The book Women in the History of Quantum Physics: Beyond Knabenphysik aims to challenge these conventional “all-male” narratives. In sixteen chapters, the authors – all members of the international and interdisciplinary working group Women in the History of Quantum Physics – analyse the work and lives of women who contributed to quantum developments in the twentieth century. Not the handful of famous women like Marie Skłodowska Curie, Maria Goeppert Mayer and Lise Meitner, but the women who remained in the shadows, had to interrupt their careers or whose work was overlooked. By analysing and comparing their lives and work, themes can be distilled that are relevant to understanding why women’s participation in physics research remains low even today. I will explore some of these themes and illustrate them with the lives and experiences of some of the protagonists of the book chapters.

Keywords: women history; quantum physics; twentieth century