Alberte Pullman (née Bucher) (26 August 1920 – 7 January 2011) was a French
theoretical
A theory is a rational type of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the results of such thinking. The process of contemplative and rational thinking is often associated with such processes as observational study or research. Theories may be s ...
and
quantum chemist. She studied at the
Sorbonne
Sorbonne may refer to:
* Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities.
*the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970)
*one of its components or linked institution, ...
starting in 1938. During her studies she worked on calculations at
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
The French National Centre for Scientific Research (french: link=no, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science
Basic research, also called pure research o ...
(CNRS). From 1943 she worked with
. She completed her doctorate in 1946. On his return from war service in 1946, she married
Bernard Pullman
Bernard Pullman (19 March 1919, Włocławek Poland – 9 June 1996) was a French theoretical quantum chemist and quantum biochemist.
Pullman studied at the Sorbonne, then spent the Second World War as a French Army officer in Africa and the Mid ...
. She and her husband worked together until his death in 1996. Together they wrote several books including ''Quantum Biochemistry'', Interscience Publishers, 1963. Their work in the 1950s and 1960s was the beginning of the new field of Quantum Biochemistry. They pioneered the application of quantum chemistry to predicting the
carcinogenic
A carcinogen is any substance, radionuclide, or radiation that promotes carcinogenesis (the formation of cancer). This may be due to the ability to damage the genome or to the disruption of cellular metabolic processes. Several radioactive substan ...
properties of
aromatic hydrocarbons
Aromatic compounds, also known as "mono- and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons", are organic compounds containing one or more aromatic rings. The parent member of aromatic compounds is benzene. The word "aromatic" originates from the past grouping ...
.
Pullman was born in
Nantes, France
Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabitan ...
. She was a member of the
International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science
The International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science (IAQMS) is an international scientific learned society covering all applications of quantum theory to chemistry and chemical physics. It was created in Menton in 1967. The founding members wer ...
and a member and former President of
The International Society of Quantum Biology and Pharmacology
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in En ...
.
Members of IAQMS
/ref>
References
External links
1920 births
20th-century French chemists
2011 deaths
University of Paris alumni
Members of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science
Theoretical chemists
Scientists from Nantes
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