RETHINKING PHYSICS Exhibition Opens

01/20/2025

The Würzburg-Dresden Cluster of Excellence ct.qmat has opened a new exhibition showing portraits of female physics researchers. Its title: "RETHINKING PHYSICS. 100 years of quantum mechanics: Time for a female perspective!".

The RETHINKING PHYSICS exhibition features impressive portraits of female researchers in physics. (Image: Tobias Ritz)

In the travelling exhibition RETHINKING PHYSICS, the Cluster of Excellence ct.qmat - Complexity and Topology in Quantum Matter of the Universities of Würzburg and Dresden focuses on the impressive portraits of established and prospective female physicists who stand for a science free of social attributions, constructions and stereotypes.

Access at Eye Level

"With RETHINKING PHYSICS, the Cluster of Excellence ct.qmat of the Universities of Würzburg and Dresden is focussing on the visibility of women in science in the United Nations International Year of Quantum Science and Technology. The portraits show female researchers with a passion for physics. They are role models for the next generation of young people and help them to find access to the natural sciences 'at eye level'," said Professor Anja Schlömerkemper, Vice President of Julius-Maximilians-Universität (JMU) Würzburg and responsible for "Equal Opportunities, Career Planning and Sustainability", at the opening in the Martin von Wagner Museum at the University of Würzburg. "The exhibition promotes dialogue about the role of women and equal opportunities in science - a matter close to JMU's heart."

Contagious Power

"The enthusiasm and power exuded by the portraits in the RETHINKING PHYSICS exhibition are infectious! Not only Quantum2025 is celebrated here, but also the participation in science that women have fought for and for which names such as Marie Curie, Lise Meitner and Grete Hermann stand. Today, we benefit from much better framework conditions, for example in terms of equal access to education and research, but also in terms of balancing work and family life. Nevertheless, there is still room for improvement so that many more girls and young women discover their passion for physics and quantum science," emphasises Adriana Pálffy-Buß, Professor of Theoretical Quantum Information and Quantum Optics at JMU Würzburg, an expert in the young research field of X-ray quantum optics.

Continuing History

"Quantum mechanics was formulated 100 years ago. Quantum2025 commemorates this milestone and emphasises the importance of quantum science as a key technology of the 21st century. Our exhibition for the United Nations International Year of Quantum Science and Technology focuses on established and aspiring female researchers who are continuing the history of this science. At the same time, we want to encourage discussion about diversity in physics - because science is for everyone! Many thanks to the women who allowed themselves to be portrayed for RETHINKING PHYSICS in order to share their enthusiasm for physics and, above all, to inspire young girls and women to pursue a career in this subject," say the two spokespersons of the Cluster of Excellence ct.qmat, Ralph Claessen, Professor of Experimental Physics at the JMU Würzburg, and Matthias Vojta, Professor of Theoretical Solid State Physics at the Technical University (TU) Dresden, on the occasion of the parallel opening of the exhibition at both ct.qmat locations.

The travelling exhibition RETHINKING PHYSICS can be seen at the Martin von Wagner Museum of the University of Würzburg (Residenzplatz 2, Tor A, 97070 Würzburg) until 2 February 2025. It will also be on show at around 50 locations worldwide in 2025, for example in Australia, Germany, Austria and the USA.

Background RETHINKING PHYSICS

The quantum revolution began over 100 years ago. First, the German physicist Max Planck presented his quantum hypothesis. With the discovery of the quantum leap, he radically overturned the ideas of classical physics. In 1925, quantum mechanics was formulated mathematically. Modern physics was born, as the foundation for a new understanding of the world and the basis for high-tech such as lasers, computer chips and solar modules. It was mainly men who stood at its cradle. For women, the hurdles on the path to science were considerable at the time. They had to fight long and hard to be recognised.

It was not until 1900 that women were allowed to regularly enrol at German universities and were no longer just onlookers in education. Almost two more decades passed before the first female scientists in Germany were admitted to habilitation and authorised to teach at universities.

The genealogy of physics therefore only lists a few "great women" - such as the two-time Nobel Prize winner Marie Curie or Lise Meitner, the first female professor of physics in Germany. The brilliant contributions to quantum physics made by mathematician, physicist and philosopher Grete Hermann, for example, have almost been forgotten. Her work on the fundamentals and interpretation of quantum mechanics from the 1930s is still groundbreaking today, but has remained largely unknown in the scientific community. Around 30 years later, a physicist from Northern Ireland came to similar conclusions and developed Bell's inequality. This shows how far ahead of her time Grete Hermann was. She has only been rediscovered in recent years. An international network of female researchers now bears her name and is based at the Cluster of Excellence ct.qmat.

Cluster of Excellence ct.qmat

The Cluster of Excellence ct.qmat - Complexity and Topology in Quantum Matter - has been jointly funded by Julius-Maximilians-Universität (JMU) Würzburg and Technische Universität (TU) Dresden since 2019. More than 300 researchers from over 30 countries and four continents are investigating topological quantum materials that reveal surprising phenomena under extreme conditions such as ultra-low temperatures, high pressure or strong magnetic fields. The Cluster of Excellence is funded as part of the Excellence Strategy of the German federal and state governments - the only cluster in Germany that spans several federal states.