With the passing of Melba Newell Phillips
in November 2004, an era of three great women in physics came to an end. They are Lise Meitner, Maria
Goeppert Mayer, and Phillips.
These three physicists
contributed immensely to research and education in physics, yet they faced a tremendous amount
of discrimination and difficulty in securing decent university positions. As a result, they were
not able to guide graduate students toward their PhDs and stay active in their respective fields.
I strongly feel that the
younger generation of our physics community, in particular women physicists, must be made aware
of the achievements of these three physicists.
Editor's note:
See the obituaries in PHYSICS TODAY for these three women: Lise Meitner in December
1968, page 101; Maria Goeppert Mayer in May 1972, page 77; and Melba Phillips in July 2005, page 80.
All three obituaries are available online with this letter at http://www.physicstoday.org.
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