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19 Women Leading Math and Physics

Reprinted with permission from Quanta Abstractions

The pipeline of women pursuing mathematics and physics is still dreadfully leaky. Because there are so few women in senior positions, aspiring researchers lack female mentors, perpetuating a sense of not belonging.Clockwise from top left: Suchitra Sebastian, Sylvia Serfaty, Helen Quinn, Maryam Mirzakhani, Janet Conrad, Cynthia Dwork, Janna Levin, Elena Aprile and Miranda Cheng. Credit: Olena Shmahalo / Quanta Magazine

n an interview with  last fall, the eminent theoretical physicist  recalled her uncertainty, as a Stanford University undergraduate in the 1960s, about whether to pursue a career in physics or become

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