Inga Fischer-Hjalmars (née Fischer; 16 January 1918,
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
– 17 September 2008,
Lidingö
Lidingö, also known in its definite form ''Lidingön'' and as ''Lidingölandet'', is an island in the inner Stockholm archipelago, northeast of Stockholm, Sweden. In 2010, the population of the Lidingö urban area on the island was 31,561. It is ...
) was an internationally acclaimed Swedish physicist, chemist,
pharmacist
A pharmacist, also known as a chemist (Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distributes medicines and provides advice and instructi ...
,
humanist, and a pioneer in
quantum chemistry
Quantum chemistry, also called molecular quantum mechanics, is a branch of physical chemistry focused on the application of quantum mechanics to chemical systems, particularly towards the quantum-mechanical calculation of electronic contributions ...
.
[Sveriges Dödbok 1901–2009, DVD-ROM, Version 5.00, Sveriges Släktforskarförbund (2010).] She was one of the pioneers in the application of
quantum mechanics to solve problems in
theoretical chemistry. Fischer-Hjalmars also served as chair of the
International Council of Scientific Unions
The International Council for Science (ICSU, after its former name, International Council of Scientific Unions) was an international non-governmental organization devoted to international cooperation in the advancement of science. Its members ...
' Standing Committee on the Free Circulation of Scientists.
Biography
Fischer-Hjalmars' parents were civil engineer Otto Fischer and Karen Beate Wulff. She received her bachelor's degree in 1939 (pharmacy), a master's in 1944 (physics, chemistry and mathematics), and continued with postgraduate, receiving her ”licentiat” in mechanics in 1949, and another in chemistry, in 1950.
Fischer-Hjalmars was married to mechanical engineering professor Stig Hjalmars.
In 1949, she began work on her doctorate, which she gained in 1952 at
Stockholm University
Stockholm University ( sv, Stockholms universitet) is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, so ...
, where she became an associate professor of mechanical and
mathematical physics. During the period of 1959 to 1963, she also ran a service laboratory in mathematical physics at the
Royal Institute of Technology
The KTH Royal Institute of Technology ( sv, Kungliga Tekniska högskolan, lit=Royal Institute of Technology), abbreviated KTH, is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden. KTH conducts research and education in engineering and technolo ...
. In 1963, at Stockholm University, Fischer-Hjalmars became Sweden's first female professor of
theoretical physics, where she was known as a popular lecturer. She succeeded
Oskar Klein
Oskar Benjamin Klein (; 15 September 1894 – 5 February 1977) was a Swedish theoretical physicist.
Biography
Klein was born in Danderyd outside Stockholm, son of the chief rabbi of Stockholm, Gottlieb Klein from Humenné in Kingdom of Hungary ...
in the post and maintained Professorship till 1982. She was affiliated with the
International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science (member),
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special ...
(member),
Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters (member), World Academy of Art and Sciences (Fellow), and the International Council of Scientific Unions' Standing Committee on the Free Circulation of Scientists (chair).
Awards
* 1990, Human Rights of Scientists Award,
New York Academy of Sciences
References
Bibliography
*
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher-Hjalmars, Inga
1918 births
2008 deaths
Scientists from Stockholm
20th-century Swedish physicists
Swedish women physicists
20th-century Swedish chemists
Swedish women chemists
Stockholm University alumni
Academic staff of Stockholm University
Swedish women academics
20th-century Swedish women scientists
Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences