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Burbidge, E. Margaret.
Oral history interview with Margaret Burbidge, 1978 July 13.
Discusses her childhood and education; her developing interest in astronomy; studying with C. C. L. Gregory at the University of London Observatory and University College; her thesis work on the variations in Gamma Cassiopeia; meeting and marrying Geoffrey Burbidge; discrimination against women in the Carnegie Followships; the conflict between her work and having a family; the decision to go to the U.S. and Yerkes; use of the 82-inch telescope at McDonald; recollections of Shapley; disagreements between Kuiper and Urey; development of interest in abundance of elements; Baade's inspiration; offers for Geoffrey Burbidge from Manchester and Cambridge and move to Cambridge University; Geoffrey's differences with M. Ryle involving source of radio emission; meeting Willie Fowler; decision to return to the U. S. and Caltech; observing time at Mt Wilson; reactions of the old guard to women observers; collaborations with Baade on supernovae synthesis (1956); work on barium II stars; the search for permanent positions; advantage of position at Chicago/Yerkes/McDonald; move to Chicago and work on galaxies (1957-1962); observations of Centaurus A at 82-inch McDonald telescope; leaving Yerkes to go to La Jolla with Revelle; continued research on quasars and general research; cosmological implications of quasars; summer in Pasadena with Hoyle; development of Hoyle's Institute; challenges of Burbidge, Fowler, Hoyle concept of nucleosynthesis; Unsold's arguments; Arp's work; lack of satisfactory gravitational red shift models; university's relationship with Lick; infra-red work future of Greenwich and changes in the power structure in the British Astronomical establishment; offer of position as head of the Science Research Council; decision to take a leave of absence from La Jolla and accept; difficulties of the position and the decision as to where to locate the Northern Hemisphere Observatory; decision to return to the U. S.; American Astronomical Society presidency (1976-1978); AAS and the Equal Rights Amendment; her most satisfying work in nucleosynthesis, B2FH. Among those prominently mentioned: Arp, Baade, Bowen, Chandrasekhar, Greenstein, Hoyle, Kuiper, P. Merrill, H. Minkowski, R. Revelle, M. Ryle, Sandage, Shapley, Stromgren, Unsold, Urey.
Astronomer. Born and educated in England (University of London). Came to the US in 1951. Served at Yerkes Observatory, California Institute of Technology, and University of California, San Diego from 1962. Awarded the Bruce Medal in 1982.
Arp, Halton C.
Baade, Walter, 1893-1960.
Bowen, E. G.
Burbidge, E. Margaret.
Burbidge, Geoffrey R.
Chandrasekhar, S. (Subrahmanyan), 1910-1995
Greenstein, Jesse L. (Jesse Leonard), 1909-2002-
Gregory, C. C. L. (Christopher Clive Langton), 1892-1964
Hoyle, Fred, 1915-2001
Kuiper, Gerard P. (Gerard Peter), 1905-1973
Merrill, Paul W. (Paul Willard), 1887-1961.
Minkowski, H. (Hermann), 1864-1909.
Revelle, Roger, 1909-1991-
Ryle, Martin, 1918-1984-
Sandage, Allan.
Shapley, Harlow, 1885-1972.
Strm̲gren, Bengt, 1908-1987
Unsl̲d, Albrecht, 1905-
Urey, Harold Clayton, 1893-1981
American Astronomical Society.
McDonald Observatory.
Mount Wilson Observatory.
Northern Hemisphere Observatory Project -- Administration.
Science Research Council (Great Britain).
University of London. Observatory.
Yerkes Observatory.
Astronomy.
Equal rights amendments.
Nucleosynthesis.
Red shift.
Sex discrimination in science.
Women astronomers.
Women in science
Astronomers -- Interviews.
DeVorkin, David H., 1944- interviewer.
AIP-ICOS
American Institute of Physics. Niels Bohr Library & Archives. One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
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