Dynamic Duos

Photos of the Month —February 2016

Stuck together like electrons and protons by an electromagnetic force, so were these famous physicist couples. The following couples were involved in the science profession. They include the two women to ever be awarded Nobel Prizes in Physics, Marie Curie and Maria Goeppert-Mayer.

Marie Curie and her husband Pierre shared their 1903 Nobel prize with Henri Becquerel for their work in radioactivity. Marie and Pierre met in 1894 while she was a student at the University of Paris. They became husband and wife in a civil ceremony in July 1895. Neither wanted a religious service, nor did they exchange rings. Instead of a bridal gown Marie wore a dark blue outfit, which for years after she used as a lab garment.

Maria Goeppert Mayer won the 1962 Nobel with Eugene Wigner and Hans Jensen for their development of the “shell” model of the nucleus. Joseph Mayer was a chemist who went to work with James Franck in Germany in 1929, where he met Maria, a student of Max Born. Maria moved to America in 1930 with her husband, Joseph Mayer.

During her studies in Berkeley, Chien-Shiung Wu met her husband, physicist Luke Yuan, another Chinese immigrant. Wu was the first woman to be named president of the American Physical Society.

After escaping Nazi Germany, Maurice Goldhaber and Gertrude Scharff Goldhaber met in England. In 1950, they moved from the University of Illinois to Brookhaven National Laboratory, where both were employed until retirement. Maurice directed the laboratory between 1961 and 1973.

Cécile Dewitt-Morette met her husband, general relativity physicist Bryce Dewitt at the Institute for Advanced Study. They remained in the U.S., but Cécile went on to found a physics summer school in France.

This Photos of the Month was inspired by Historian Will Thomas’ original blog post from 2010, Married Physicist Couples .