Maria Goeppert-Mayer
Maria Goeppert-Mayer (June 28, 1906 - February 20, 1972) was a German-American theoretical physicist best known for developing the nuclear shell model, a groundbreaking contribution to nuclear physics. Her work explained why certain numbers of protons and neutrons —known as magic numbers— result in especially stable atomic nuclei. For this achievement, she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1963, becoming the second woman to receive the honor after Marie Curie. Throughout her career, she also contributed to the Manhattan Project.
Quotes
- Mathematics began to seem too much like puzzle solving. Physics is puzzle solving, too, but of puzzles created by nature, not by the mind of man.