True science, the purest example

On March 8, we asked scientists and science journalists to remember those women who became models for them in science and everyday life. Published comments are a kind of declaration of love to the fair sex, Women with a capital W.

Alexander Filippov , political philosopher, professor at the Faculty of Philosophy at the Higher School of Economics:

For me, the ideal woman in science has always been Piama Pavlovna Gaidenko . She is beautiful - they say that in her youth she was an absolute beauty, but I found her closer to 50. She is very charming and friendly. I felt a feeling of real human warmth from her. But I have also never met a more powerful mind or a more rigid and principled philosopher. I was told that a famous researcher in the 1960s once said about her that she was the only man in Russian philosophy. Back then it could have been considered a compliment, but now it would be called sexism. But I would say that in her generation she is the only - not the only, but one of the very few Philosophers with a capital P.

Evgeny Morgunov , psychologist, professor at the Higher School of Economics, dean of the Faculty of Practical Psychology at the Moscow School of Economics and Social Sciences (Shaninki):

I met Honorary Professor of Moscow State University Galina Mikhailovna Andreeva in 1977, when I was a student at the Faculty of Psychology. An attractive woman walked into a large auditorium of more than 150 students wishing to take a course in social psychology. The hubbub suddenly died down. I can’t say that I woke up a year after finishing this course. But there was something trance-like in the way our classes were conducted. I have never seen such structured thoughts and expressiveness in their presentation. In fact, everything related to social psychology at Moscow State University was determined in one way or another by G.M. and is still being determined. In fact, all employees of the department of the same name are her students and supporters of her views. And social psychology as a discipline for most domestic students begins with Andreeva’s textbook.

Semyon Kutateladze, mathematician, professor at Novosibirsk State University:

In Russian mathematics there are two female names standing next to each other - Olga Aleksandrovna Ladyzhenskaya and Nina Nikolaevna Uraltseva . O.A. has already left us - on March 7, 2013 she would have turned 90 years old - and N.N. still in service. Ladyzhenskaya and Uraltseva are a global brand of modern mathematical physics. There are no mathematicians in the world who have not heard these names. It is happiness to accompany such beautiful, intelligent and strong people through life, with whom it is easy in difficult times and joyful in moments of kindness and peace.

Dmitry Rogozin , sociologist, dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the Moscow Higher School of Social Sciences and Economics (Shaninka):

My teacher, Professor Gennady Semenovich Batygin, denied the existence of gender among scientific workers, but in general there are many lady social scientists around us from whom we can learn, they are real researchers, and their work has always inspired us and inspires us to this day.

Vladislav Izmodenov , astrophysicist, professor at Moscow State University, head. Laboratory of IKI RAS:

The outstanding French astrophysicist Rosine Lallement now works at the Paris Observatory (in Meudon), and before that she worked for a long time at the Service d'Aeronomie near Paris. Rosin is known for her work on studying the structure of the interstellar medium in the vicinity of the Sun, mapping the local interstellar medium, studying the boundaries of the heliosphere, as well as interplanetary space. Rosin's range of scientific interests is very wide. Recently, she and her students have been actively researching the effects associated with X-ray radiation produced as a result of charge exchange, which is observed (or can be observed) in various cosmic objects.

Possessing natural charm, charm, a beautiful smile, a genuine interest in everything new and a desire to understand how the world works, Rosin creates around herself a unique creative atmosphere, to which her students and colleagues are drawn and nourished. Rosin is also a wonderful wife (Rosin's husband, Jean Lou Berto, is also a famous scientist) and a caring mother (who raised two sons). Interestingly, both Rozin and Jean Lou were awarded (for scientific achievements) the Order of the Legion of Honor, the highest award in France.

Andrey Teslya , historian of philosophy, associate professor of the department of philosophy and cultural studies of the Pacific State University (PSU):

I was lucky enough to meet Elvira Oktavievna Leontyeva (Head of the Department of Sociology, Political Science and Regional Studies at Tomsk State University) four years ago, almost by accident - during advanced training courses. Initially, I was greatly impressed by her thinking - clear, tough, tenacious and consistent in posing questions, methodologically clarifying them, and her ability to highlight the main thing and rank research tasks; the ability to simultaneously carry out a number of studies in areas quite distant from each other, without allowing unprofessionalism in any of them. In fact, these are the traits, both scientific and behavioral, that are usually referred to as “male mentality.”

And only later, upon closer acquaintance, it turned out that this rigidity and extreme precision is a way to be a woman without sacrificing science: the scientific functions through a fundamental separation from the everyday, everyday - in the sphere where she is “just a scientist” in order to have time and strength for another space - personal existence, where she is a woman, the mother of two wonderful children, the eldest of whom is already graduating from university, and the youngest is attending primary school.

It has long been said that, in addition to all other qualities, to achieve success in science, it is practically necessary to have iron health and endurance. Similarly, we can say that in order to get the opportunity to be a woman and a scientist, and not become a “woman scientist”, using your gender as a “resource” or suffering it as a disadvantage, you need to consistently build your professional space exclusively as professional - transparent, first of all, for yourself himself, not so much for the sake of science, but in order to protect another sphere, the space of personal existence, statuses and roles in which, if possible, are separated from professional ones.

Olga Orlova , science journalist, producer of programs about science and technology at the Public Television of Russia:

It is difficult to evaluate women scientists of the past. There is much that can no longer be understood or known. The lives of women at the beginning of the 20th and 21st centuries are incomparable. Therefore, I will say about contemporaries. It’s quite rare for a person to leave with both the feeling of a bright woman and a realized scientist. And this is understandable: in such a development there are many mutually exclusive things, primarily psychological. The more I rejoice at the opposite examples. Elena Naimark – Doctor of Biological Sciences, paleontologist. I am friends with her and am surprised. I am amazed at her dedication to science, children and the beauty of life. Behind this is talent and work.

She is an expert on fossil marine invertebrates. This area involves field research, and Lena works a lot on expeditions from Yakutia to the USA. This is a great art: to be included in the elite of the international scientific community, to wander along distant coasts, and at the same time raise three children and maintain good, trusting relationships with them. Lena is a very caring mother: she cares whether the children are in a good mood and whether they are wearing a warm jacket. And the other part of the brain is busy at the same time with another study. (I remember how at the dacha she spoke with trepidation about an unexpected discovery made, as often happens, by accident. Verification takes time. And I hope this episode will go down in the history of paleontology.)

Her third hemisphere is busy with how to arrange this life and make money for it. And she does it in the best way: those who are interested in the popularization of science know that Naimark’s deep and subtle publications can be found both in the specialized “Elements” and in the humanitarian “New World”. This parallel activity usually comes at someone else's expense. There must be someone who stays “in the shop” and covers you there. Lena doesn’t have such a wizard on whom she can throw off everything inconvenient. Because her husband is a scientist. Alexander Markov is a doctor of science, a brilliant evolutionist, and a recognized popularizer. That is, general science, general educational activities. With all the obvious consequences of the life of scientists in Russia...

Lena is a memorable woman. Smart, ironic look, touching smile, loves elegant clothes and cozy atmosphere.

One day Lena and I were sitting in a cafe and chatting for a long time. After a while, three men at the next table began to watch us, then listen to our conversation. They already wanted to become participants. When we were about to leave, they came up: “Girls, you are so... We were so interested. We watched and admired you.” Yeah, I can imagine what would happen to them if they found out what kind of “girl” Lena is. In short, neuroscientists should discover that the brains of such women are structured differently than those of men, they are larger and more complex, thanks to which they are able to solve several problems in parallel with irreducible complexity. And the proof of this phenomenon is before us.

Natalya Demina , scientific journalist "Polit. ru», member of the editorial board of TrV-Nauka:

Perhaps my ideal female scientist is Tatyana Maksimovna Birshtein , professor at the St. Petersburg Institute of Macromolecular Compounds of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IVS). “Science has a special appeal, it is a very joyful activity. But the decision to engage in research will be associated with many difficulties that you must strive to overcome,” she noted in one of her speeches. To the question: “Why are there still few women in science?” — she usually answers that it has always been difficult for a woman to combine research with housework, caring for children and a husband, and that there are many women working in Russian science, but most of them never reach leading positions.

On the website of the L'Oreal competition “For Women in Science” (and Tatyana Maksimovna became the first laureate of this international award in 2007), she is quoted as saying that in science she tried to concentrate on the result. “I have always been highly motivated by my will to get results and the determination of methods to achieve them.” How did Tatyana Maksimovna herself manage to combine a scientific career and caring for her family in life? Her answer is both simple and complex: “You know, I’ve been saying all my life that I’m not only a professor, but I’m also a professor’s wife; as a professor’s wife, I had a lot of responsibilities, and I managed. Nanny, then kindergartens. If you want to work in science, then earn money to pay a nanny, but what to do? Of course it’s difficult, of course none of this is easy. In Russia, women bear enormous burdens.”

It seems to me that many of us could say a lot of kind words to those scientists whom I never cease to admire: psycholinguist Rebekah Markovna Frumkina , linguist Irina Levontina , historian Olga Togoeva , scientist Irina Dezhina , philologist Svetlana Burlak , geographer Tatyana Nefedova , biologist Elizaveta Bonch-Osmolovskaya , economist Natalya Zubarevich , anthropologist Maria Mednikova , sociologists Tatyana Zaslavskaya , Elena Omelchenko and Elena Danilova , linguists Elena Paducheva and Barbara Parti and many others whom I have met in recent years, but it’s better to let men do it. I am sure that our readers could supplement this short list with a huge list of names - those Women who adorn world science and our lives.

Boris Stern , astrophysicist, editor-in-chief of TrV-Nauka:

I have not directly met women who could be called outstanding or brilliant scientists (although this does not mean that they do not exist at all; allowance must be made for the fact that I am a physicist). But I met many strong and competent “workhorses” of science, without which the latter cannot exist. Contrary to the existing myth, women involved in science, on average, win as Women - with their charm and even external attractiveness. Some win big. Intelligence is not only a color for a man. As for specific examples, my wife Valentina, a biologist, fits well with the above.

Andrey Letarov , microbiologist, head. Laboratory of Microbial Viruses of the Institute of Microbiology of the Russian Academy of Sciences:

In the preface to one of his albums dedicated to female beauty, the famous French photographer Jeanloup Sieff wrote that in his life he communicated more with models and fashion models, whom he photographed for this album, but at the same time, if he knew more women employees or researchers from the CNRS, then without a doubt I would have found among them no less beautiful. So let’s drink to the fact that when Russian artists think about beautiful women, one of the first associations is the Academy of Sciences!

One day, exhausted by hours of receiving student essays, I suggested that the last student either take the literature from me and redo her rather weak work, or get 4 points simply because she looks very good. The girl first decided that she was smart, but soon returned and decided that it was better to be beautiful. When I told this story to my colleagues in the laboratory, we had a toast to those who have no doubt that they are both smart and beautiful.

Nikolay Mnev , mathematician, senior researcher at POMI and the Chebyshev Laboratory of St. Petersburg State University:

In mathematics, women are like in the navy. Not enough at all, alas. They say it's not a woman's job. And if a woman is a mathematician, then they say that something is wrong. The fact that the founder of modern algebra, Amy Noether, did not take good care of her hair has gone down in the annals. For some reason, the fact that I rarely comb my hair won’t work.

I am fighting this ugly sexism with the help of Gayane Yuryevna Panina . When a student starts talking about how mathematics is cool, but not for ladies, the student is sent to Gayane Yuryevna’s lectures. Usually it helps. Panina has three children: Anush, Nina, Misha, plus one Vanya. Plus one Vanya is her husband - the wonderful mathematician Ivan Aleksandrovich Panin. Schools, lunches, shopping bags, wiping noses... Tense. And now I am a witness to how this good tension turns into a colossal creative explosion, amazing, profound results. At the same time, total maternal care extends to students. Our students and strangers. Students run for Gayane at schools in Dubna, Yekaterinburg, and abroad. And my nose was wiped off more than once. Dear mathematical ladies, God, how beautiful you are!

Photo courtesy of P.P. Gaydenko www.pemptousia.ru/ ; Rosine Lalleman at www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/ibex/allsky_RosineBio.html ; O.A. Ladyzhenskoi and N.N. Uraltsevoi - from the archive of S.S. Kutateladze; T.M. Birstein is from the L'Oreal website.