Mary K. Gaillard facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mary Katharine Gaillard
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Gaillard in 2015
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| Born |
Mary Katherine Ralph
April 1, 1939 |
| Died | May 23, 2025 (aged 86) |
| Alma mater |
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| Known for | Standard Model |
| Spouse(s) |
Jean-Marc Gaillard
(m. 1961–1983)Bruno Zumino
(m. 1984–2014) |
| Children | 3 |
| Awards |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics |
| Institutions | University of California, Berkeley |
| Doctoral advisor | Bernard d'Espagnat |
| Doctoral students |
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Mary Katharine Gaillard (born April 1, 1939 – died May 23, 2025) was an American scientist who studied physics. She was a theoretical physicist, meaning she used math and theories to understand how the universe works, especially tiny particles. She was known for her important work in particle physics.
Gaillard was a professor at the University of California, Berkeley. She was also a visiting scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. She made history as the first woman physicist to get a permanent teaching position at Berkeley.
Her amazing work included predicting the mass of the charm quark before it was even found. She also predicted something called "3-jet events" and the mass of the b-quark. In 2015, she wrote a book about her life called A Singularly Unfeminine Profession.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Mary Katharine Ralph was born on April 1, 1939, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. She grew up in Painesville, Ohio. Her father taught history at Lake Erie College.
She went to Hollins College in Virginia for her undergraduate studies. Her physics teacher, Dorothy Montgomery, helped her find work in France and at Brookhaven National Labs. She earned her bachelor's degree in 1960. She then received her master's degree from Columbia University in 1961.
After her first year at Columbia, she married Jean-Marc Gaillard, another physics student. They moved to France and then to CERN in Switzerland. Even though she faced challenges and had three children, she kept studying theoretical physics. She earned her first doctorate in 1964 and a second one in 1968 from the University of Paris at Orsay.
Career in Physics
While at CERN from 1964 to 1981, Gaillard was a visiting scientist. She later worked for the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). She even did a survey that showed how women scientists at CERN faced unfair treatment in hiring and pay.
Despite these challenges, her scientific work was excellent. This helped her advance at CNRS. In 1979, Gaillard started a particle theory group in France. She led this group until 1981.
In 1981, Gaillard and her husband divorced, and she moved back to the United States. She joined the physics department at Berkeley. She became the first woman professor of physics there. She also led the Theory Group at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory from 1985 to 1987.
Gaillard was part of many important committees. These included groups for the American Physical Society and advisory panels for the U.S. Department of Energy. She also served on the National Science Board from 1996 to 2002.
Important Research Discoveries
Mary Gaillard made many important discoveries in physics. Here are some of her key contributions:
- Charm Quark Prediction: She worked with Benjamin W. Lee to predict the mass of the charm quark. This was a big achievement because the charm quark was discovered later, and her prediction was correct!
- Three-Jet Events: With John Ellis and others, she studied what happens when tiny particles collide. They predicted "Three-jet events," which are patterns seen in these collisions.
- Bottom Quark Mass: She also helped predict the mass of the bottom quark.
- New Physics at High Energies: With Michael Chanowitz, she showed that new physics discoveries would happen at very high energy levels. This helped guide experiments at particle accelerators.
- Superstring Theory: Later in her career, her work focused on superstrings. This theory tries to explain all forces and particles in the universe. She explored how these ideas could be tested in experiments and through observations of the cosmos.
Awards and Honors
Mary Gaillard received many awards for her contributions to physics:
- 1977: Prix Thibaud, Academy of Sciences, Humanities and Arts of Lyon
- 1984: Fellow of the American Physical Society
- 1988: E.O. Lawrence Memorial Award from the U. S. Department of Energy
- 1989: Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- 1991: Member of the National Academy of Sciences
- 1993: J. J. Sakurai Prize for Theoretical Particle Physics
- 2000: Member of the American Philosophical Society
Personal Life
Mary Gaillard had three children with her first husband, Jean-Marc Gaillard: Alain, Dominique, and Bruno. Later, she married Bruno Zumino, who was also a physicist. Mary Gaillard passed away on May 23, 2025, at the age of 86.
See also
In Spanish: Mary K. Gaillard para niños
