Lotte Pusch

Lotte Pusch was born on August 7, 1980 in Reichenbach (O.-L.) was a German physical chemist. She was of the Protestant denomination. Her father was a District Court Director.

Education

Pusch visited secondary schools in Pleß, Glogau (later called Głogów), and Görlitz before deciding to attend the Mädchen-Realgymnasium Chamissoschule school in Schönberg.[1] She later attended the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität (later the Humboldt University of Berlin).[1][2] During her first two semesters, she focused on mathematics, physics, and chemistry.[1] In 1913, Pusch passed her university exams and began to study for her Ph.D. in physical chemistry.[1] She earned her doctorate in March 1916 after passing her doctoral exam on January 20, 1916.[1]

Career

Upon receipt of her doctorate, Pusch, in the summer semester of 1916, became the only female Assistent (assistant) at the Physikalisch-Chemischen Institut at the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität. She was hired in as a civil servant based upon Article 128 in the Weimar Constitution, which is listed as abolishing discriminatory regulations against women civil servants.[3] During this time, Lotte worked with Walther Nernst in regards to the Photo-Induced Chain Reaction of Chlorine and Hydrogen. They looked to find the mechanism for why this reactions is able to produce a large quantum yield.[4] She held the position until 1920. By law, as a civil servant, she was required to relinquish her position to a returning man, in this case Dr. Kurt Bennwitz. In addition, she gave up her career in favor of her husband, the physical chemist Max Volmer.[2]

Personal

Lotte and Max knew and socialized with the physicist Lise Meitner and the chemist Otto Hahn from the 1920s onwards.[5] Lotte also documented some of these conversations between Lise and Max.[6]

Selected Literature

Bibliography

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Lotte Pusch Über die Zeitreaktion bei der Neutralisation der Kohlensäure und die wahre Dissoziationskonstante der Kohlensäure PhD thesis, Universität, Berlin, 1916. 37 pp. (29 March 1916).
  2. 1 2 Vogt, 1998, 24-25.
  3. Weimar Constitution. Art. 128-131, Sec. 2
  4. Schmitt, Ulrich T. "Walther Nernst." Memorial. Physicochemical Institute University of Göttingen, 9 Dec. 1999. Web. 15 Mar. 2016. <http://www.nernst.de/>.
  5. Sime, 1997, 367.
  6. Sime, 1997, 526.
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