Remembering Dr. Ida Noddack
A very talented chemist and physicist, Ida is one of the most notable female scientists of our history. Despite the challenges she faced not only during the Nazi regime but also as a female in the field, she established her position in it as an incredibly competent chemist. In fact, in 1934 Ida published a paper that suggested the existence of nuclear fission for the first time ever, however major scientists of the time dismissed Ida’s suggestion including Otto Hahn who in 1938, along with chemist Fritz Strassman conducted a study that demonstrated that nuclear fission was indeed possible! Despite being now considered the first to note the existence of nuclear fission, when Ida asserted her prior statements with regards to her suggestion on its existence, Hahn and Strassman refused to comment on this and thus, Ida’s claim was all but wholly ignored [1, 2].
In Youth STEM Matters, we are working towards making a more sustainable future by working towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals – one of which is Goal 5: Gender Equality. What happened to Ida is only one of many other instances in history when gender equality has not been upheld – however, as young people and leaders of the future we want to make sure this does not happen to any other person.
In celebration of her achievements, Moses Joy Onohoomhen, an Artist at Youth STEM Matters created a portrait of Ida Noddack, and recorded the process…
Nokutenda Sengwe, a Copy-Editor at Youth STEM Matters has also shared her perspective…
“Ida Noddack, first to ever propose the cutting edge (yet unrecognised at the time) theory of nuclear fission and unparalleled discovery of the element 75 (Rhenium), deserves equally worthy admiration for her rocky road to success as her scientific accomplishments. Women like her overcoming the numerous obstructions she faced because of her gender have greatly influenced gender equality (UN SDG 5) for the greater good of those who follow and we are forever indebted to her.”
The societal context within which Dr. Ida Noddack made advances in her field make her achievements all the more worth celebrating!
References
[1] G. M. Santos. “A tale of oblivion: Ida Noddack and the ‘universal abundance’ of matter,” The Royal Society Journal of The History of Science, Sep 2014.
[2] E. Gregersen. (2011, Feb. 2011). Ida Noddack [Online]. Available: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ida-Noddack
Authors
Written by Anne-Rosa Bilal, with artwork by Moses Joy Onohoomhen and contribution from Nokutenda Sengwe.
