Jane Dewey: Opportunities and difficulties of a woman scientist in the early years of quantum physics
Adriana Minor, Centro de Estudios Históricos, El Colegio de México, México
Wednesday 26 November 2025, 12.00 PM
ICMAB - Sala d'Actes Carles Miravitlles
Abstract
One hundred years ago, Jane Dewey (1900–1976) arrived in Copenhagen. Niels Bohr had admitted her to his prestigious Institute of Theoretical Physics. There, Bohr encouraged the young female scientist to conduct experiments on the Stark effect, to which she contributed to the early development of quantum mechanics.
However, her contributions to this field have not received sufficient recognition from her contemporaries or from the history of physics. This presentation focuses on Dewey's career and the conditions that allowed her to pursue a career in science, as well as the difficulties she faced along the way. By revisiting her experiences as a female scientist, this presentation will explore the history of women in quantum physics.
Short bio
Adriana Minor is a historian of 20th-century physics from a transnational perspective. Her publications include the articles “Atoms in the campus: Van de Graaff accelerators and the making of two major Latin American universities in the 1950s Brazil and Mexico” (Annals of Science, 2021), and “Up and down journeys: The making of Latin America’s uniqueness for the study of cosmic rays” (Centaurus, 2020); as well as her book "Cruzar fronteras: Movilizaciones científicas y relaciones interamericanas en la trayectoria de Manuel Sandoval Vallarta (1917-1942)" (CISAN-UNAM & El Colegio de Michoacán, 2019) and the chapter “Discouraging Jane: Dewey Among the Lucky Generation of US Physicists” in the edited volume Women in the History of Quantum Physics: Beyond Knabenphysik, (Cambridge University Press, 2024). Adriana is an associate professor at the Centro de Estudios Históricos of El Colegio de Mexico.
Hosted by Ana López-Periago, from the SSC-Supercritical group (Materials for Energy Research Line)
>> If you want to meet the speaker, please contact the host at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
