Jenara Vicenta Arnal Yarza facts for kids

Jenara Vicenta Arnal Yarza (born September 19, 1902 – died May 27, 1960) was a very important Spanish scientist. She was the first woman in Spain to earn a Ph.D. in Chemistry. Jenara was known for her work in electrochemistry, which is about how electricity and chemical reactions are connected. She also researched how to create fluorine from a substance called potassium bifluoride.

Later in her life, she became famous for her ideas on teaching science. She believed in showing students how chemistry is useful in everyday life. For her amazing contributions, she received a special national award called the Orden Civil de Alfonso X el Sabio.

Early Life and Education

Jenara Arnal Yarza was born in Zaragoza, Spain. Her family was not wealthy. Her father, Luis Arnal Foz, was a laborer who later fixed pianos. Her mother, Vicenta Yarza Marquina, was a housewife.

Jenara had two younger siblings. After her parents passed away, she took care of them. Her sister, Pilar, became a pianist and performed concerts. Her brother, Pablo, was a physics and chemistry professor before he died young.

Jenara loved learning. She first studied to become a primary school teacher and finished her training in 1921. But she wanted to learn even more! So, she continued her studies at the University of Zaragoza. She focused on Chemical Sciences. She worked very hard and earned high grades in all her classes. She received her graduate degree in 1927.

On October 6, 1929, Jenara presented her final research paper, called a doctoral thesis. It was about studying hypochlorous acid and its salts. On December 13, 1929, she officially received her Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Zaragoza. This made her the first woman in Spain to earn a doctorate in Chemical Sciences.

Career in Chemistry

After finishing her studies, Jenara started working as a researcher in 1926. She worked in the chemistry labs at the University of Zaragoza. Her research took her to many different places. She worked at the Escuela Industrial of Zaragoza and the Escuela Superior de Trabajo in Madrid.

She even traveled abroad to study! She received a special scholarship to research electrochemistry in Switzerland and Germany. She worked at the University of Basel and the Technische Hochschule in Dresden. While in Switzerland, she worked with a famous professor named Friedrich Fichter. They studied how to create fluorine and other chemicals using electricity. They published their findings in a well-known Swiss science magazine.

When she returned to Spain, Jenara continued her research at the National Institute of Physics and Chemistry in Madrid. There, she published 11 articles about her work in electrochemistry. In 1929, she became a member of the Spanish Society for Physics and Chemistry. This showed how respected her research was.

The Spanish Civil War started in 1936. Jenara left Madrid for a while and stayed in France. She later returned to Spain. Even during the war, she was able to continue her research. After the war, she didn't return to full-time research. However, she still worked on projects for the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) while teaching.

Jenara was also the second woman to lead a physics and chemistry department at a Spanish high school. This happened in 1930.

In 1947, Jenara traveled to London for a big science conference. Later that year, she got permission to visit Japan. She went as a delegate for the CSIC. In Japan, she gave talks and helped exchange scientific publications between Spain and Japanese universities. She even returned to Japan for two years to continue her chemistry studies.

In 1953, she attended more international chemistry conferences in Sweden and Austria. Jenara Vicenta Arnal Yarza passed away suddenly on May 27, 1960. After her death, the Ministry of Education honored her with the Orden Civil de Alfonso X el Sabio.

Career in Teaching

Jenara Arnal Yarza started her teaching career in 1926. She was an assistant at the University of Zaragoza, helping with practical chemistry classes. She taught Inorganic Chemistry and Electrochemistry. In 1930, she became a full professor. She was the eleventh Spanish woman to become a professor and only the second science professor.

Her first high school teaching job was at a girls' school in Barcelona. She later taught in Calatayud and Bilbao. From 1935 to 1936, she taught at the Instituto Velázquez in Madrid.

During the Spanish Civil War, Jenara didn't take sides. This allowed her to continue her work without problems. She moved to the "National Zone" of Spain and was able to keep her teaching position in Bilbao. In 1940, she became a professor at the Beatriz Galindo Institute in Madrid. She stayed there until she died in 1960.

As a teacher, Jenara was known for her special way of teaching science. She believed that learning science helped students understand the world. It also helped them develop their minds through observation, experiments, and understanding results.

She thought that science teaching should fit the student's age. For younger students (5-12 years old), she focused on hands-on experiences. For older students (12-15 years old), she emphasized how science could be used in real life, like in jobs or for fun. She wrote about these ideas in a journal in 1933.

Legacy

One of Jenara's former students from her time in Japan, Gonzalo de Ojeda y Brooke, created a special award in her honor. It's called the Vicenta Arnal Prize and is given to graduating students of the Instituto Beatriz Galindo. His son, Jaime de Ojeda y Eiseley, continues to give out this award today.

In March 2019, the city of Zaragoza thought about naming a street after Jenara Vicenta Arnal Yarza. This was to honor her contributions and recognize important women from the city. However, this plan was later canceled.

See also

In Spanish: Jenara Vicenta Arnal Yarza para niños