Women Chemists Research Articles

(Eur. J. Org. Chem. 20‐21/2011)

AbstractThe cover picture shows the highlight of “Women in Chemistry”, celebrating the contributions of women in chemistry. The year 2011 is designated as the International Year of Chemistry and commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Nobel Prize being awarded to Madame Marie Curie. The picture demonstrates the conversion of a male hormone into the female hormone estrogen by the enzyme aromatase. Because increased levels of estrogen may lead to breast cancer, inhibition of aromatase activity by aromatase inhibitors could therefore reduce the incidence of breast cancer. Aromatase inhibitors have been isolated from the Thai medicinal plants Dunbaria longeracemosa and Alangium salviifolium. Details are discussed in the articles by Thai female chemists V. Prachyawarakorn and C. Mahidol on p. 3803 ff and P. Pailee and C. Mahidol on p. 3809 ff .

Reflections on This 100th Anniversary of Marie Curie’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry

The anniversary of Marie Curie’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry is a time for celebration of her accomplishments and those of other women chemists. It also is a time to take renewed efforts to ensure that everyone has a chance to succeed in science—regardless of race or gender.

Women in Chemistry

Women in Chemistry

British Women, Chemistry, and Poetry: Some Contextual Examples from the 1870s to the 1940s

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, British women chemists used poetry as a way of describing their work and as a means of social commentary. As far as we are aware, the chemistry−poetry interface has not previously been explored in the context of women’s experience.

European Women in Chemistry. Edited by Jan Apotheker and Livia Simon Sarkadi.

European Women in Chemistry. Edited by Jan Apotheker and Livia Simon Sarkadi.

2011: International Year of (Physical) Chemistry

2011: International Year of (Physical) Chemistry

Editorial: Interdisciplinary, International, Inspiring!

Editorial: Interdisciplinary, International, Inspiring!

Women in Chemistry in Australia: From a Slow Start to a More Promising Future

Margaret M. Sheil shares her views on the role and growth of women chemists in Australia. Women have been rare in chemistry and even rarer in the ranks of leadership of academic chemistry and in the main professional association, the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI). Prior to 2009 when Ada Yonath was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry, the last women chemist to be awarded a Nobel Prize was Dorothy Hodgson in 1964. The author goes through several research works to know more about women chemists. She comes across many women chemists but feels sad that they were not given their due credit. She also researched that the highest number of female applicants is found in physical and structural chemistry and the lowest in inorganic chemistry. To help address the small number of successful women in this most prestigious ARC scheme, the Australian Laureate Fellowships, the ARC has added two additional fellowships in 2011.

Women in Chemistry — Interview with Ulrike Flad

Women in Chemistry — Interview with Ulrike Flad

Women in Chemistry — Interview with Supawan Tantayanon

Women in Chemistry — Interview with Supawan Tantayanon

Women in Chemistry — Interview with Maria Gavrilescu

Women in Chemistry — Interview with Maria Gavrilescu

Women in Chemistry — Interview with Roberta Sessoli

Women in Chemistry — Interview with Roberta Sessoli

Women in Chemistry — Interview with Zuriati Zakaria

Women in Chemistry — Interview with Zuriati Zakaria

Women in Chemistry — Interview with Vivian Yam

Women in Chemistry — Interview with Vivian Yam

Women in Chemistry — Interview with Yamuna Krishnan

Women in Chemistry — Interview with Yamuna Krishnan

Women in Chemistry — Interview with Uta Wille

Women in Chemistry — Interview with Uta Wille

Women in Chemistry — Interview with Polly Arnold

Women in Chemistry — Interview with Polly Arnold

Women in Chemistry

Women in Chemistry

Finding fulfillment: women's self-efficacy beliefs and career choices in chemistry

Research has shown that self-efficacy beliefs are effective predictors of academic major and career choices in middle school, high school, and early college populations. There is little understanding, however, of how these beliefs develop and what influence they have on academic and career choices in women at the advanced undergraduate and graduate levels. This qualitative study identified key factors that contributed to women chemists' academic and career decisions. Participants completed a chemistry self-efficacy survey and participated in three in-depth interviews. The results indicated that the participants' efficacy beliefs were positively influenced primarily by mastery experiences and social support and were undermined by inaccurate social comparisons. Efficacy beliefs were found to help steer them towards different careers, but ultimately value judgments were more influential in directing their career choice. These women did not value the outcomes of chemistry research or find scientific research intrinsically fulfilling, which led them to choose careers that they felt more directly benefitted humanity. Suggestions for showing the value of chemistry research in the classroom and the laboratory are offered.

International Year of Chemistry: An Educational Opportunity

The goals of the International Year of Chemistry (IYC) provide a framework for increasing awareness and understanding, among our students and the general public, of the “extraordinary chemistry of ordinary things”. IYC celebrates chemistry’s creativity in meeting world needs, along with the many contributions of women chemists.