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Alicia Esther Nash (née Lardé Lopez-Harrison; January 1, 1933 – May 23, 2015) was a Salvadoran-American physicist. The wife of mathematician
John Forbes Nash Jr. John Forbes Nash Jr. (June 13, 1928 – May 23, 2015), known and published as John Nash, was an American mathematician who made fundamental contributions to game theory, real algebraic geometry, differential geometry, and partial differentia ...
, she was a mental-health care advocate, who gave up her professional aspirations to support her husband and son, who were both diagnosed with
schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...
. Her life with Nash was chronicled in the 1998 book, ''A Beautiful Mind'' by Sylvia Nasar, as well as in the 2001 film of the same title directed by
Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American filmmaker and actor. Howard started his career as a child actor before transitioning to directing films. Over his six-decade career, Howard has received List of awards and nominations r ...
, in which she was portrayed by Jennifer Connelly."Alicia Nash’s beautiful, complex, rebellious life"
''Toronto Star'', May 29, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.

''The Star-Ledger'', May 26, 2015. Retrieved May 27, 2015.


Personal life

Alicia Lardé Lopez-Harrison was born on January 1, 1933, in El Salvador, the daughter of Alicia Lopez-Harrison and Carlos Lardé, a doctor. The Lardé Lopez-Harrison family also included two boys, Carlos and Rolando Lardé. Both of her parents came from socially prominent, well-travelled families who spoke several languages. Her aunt was the poet Alice Lardé de Venturino; her paternal grandfather was Jorge Lardé, a chemical engineer. When Lardé was a child, her father traveled to the United States a few times before deciding to move the family there permanently in 1944. After first settling in
Biloxi, Mississippi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It lies on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast in southern Mississippi, bordering the city of Gulfport, Mississippi, Gulfport to its west. The adjacent cities ar ...
, the family later moved to New York City. Lardé was accepted to the Marymount School with the help of a letter of recommendation from El Salvador's Ambassador to the United States. Following graduation from Marymount, Lardé was accepted into
Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...
, to study physics. She was one of very few women studying at MIT in the 1950s. There she met her future husband, John Forbes Nash, Jr. Despite signs of Nash's mental illness which had emerged in the early 1950s,The Lost Years of a Nobel Laureate
Retrieved May 27, 2015
the couple married in 1957. She became pregnant with their son John Charles Martin Nash, who was to develop schizophrenia, in 1958; shortly before the birth in 1959, Nash was committed to McLean Hospital to receive psychiatric treatment for his illness. After spending 50 days in hospital, he was released, but was re-committed three times over the next few years against his will, by his sister. The couple divorced in 1963, but when John's mother died in 1968, he pressed Alicia to allow him to return to live with her. In 1970, he moved in, and she helped take care of her ex-husband; the couple remarried in 2001. In 2002, the couple visited her native country, El Salvador, where she was honored by the president, Francisco Flores Pérez, with a tribute to her life.La Prensa Grafica
Retrieved March 18, 2019


Career

After graduation from
MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...
, Nash went to work for the Brookhaven Nuclear Development Corporation as a lab physicist. In the early 1960s, she worked for
RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...
as an aerospace engineer, but was laid off. She then worked for years at
Con Edison Consolidated Edison, Inc., commonly known as Con Edison (stylized as conEdison) or ConEd, is one of the largest investor-owned energy companies in the United States, with approximately $12 billion in annual revenues as of 2017, and over $62 ...
as a system programmer and later for the
New Jersey Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit or NJTransit and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey and portions of the states of New York and Pennsylvania. It ...
system as a
computer programmer A programmer, computer programmer or coder is an author of computer source code someone with skill in computer programming. The professional titles ''software developer'' and ''software engineer'' are used for jobs that require a progr ...
and
data analyst Data analysis is the process of inspecting, cleansing, transforming, and modeling data with the goal of discovering useful information, informing conclusions, and supporting decision-making. Data analysis has multiple facets and approaches, e ...
. She was a member of numerous women's engineering societies. When the film ''A Beautiful Mind'' was released, Alicia Nash was serving as president of MIT's Alumni Association Board.


Mental health advocacy

Nash became a spokesperson for schizophrenia and mental illness. In 2005 she was given the Luminary Award from the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation. She travelled around the country to discuss rights for those with mental illness, and in 2009 she met with New Jersey state lawmakers to discuss how to improve that state's mental health care system. In 2012, she was honored at the
University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...
's John and Alicia Nash Conference for her support of those with mental illness, where she delivered the keynote address.


Death

Alicia and her husband were killed in a car crash on the
New Jersey Turnpike The New Jersey Turnpike (NJTP) is a system of controlled-access highway, controlled-access toll roads in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The turnpike is maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA).The Garden State Parkway, although ma ...
on May 23, 2015, in Monroe Township,
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
. They were on their way home after a visit to Norway, where her husband had been awarded the Abel Prize. The driver of the
taxicab A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...
they were riding in from Newark Airport lost control of the cab and struck a guardrail. Because neither were wearing seatbelts, both passengers were ejected and killed.


Portrayal in media

Alicia was portrayed by Jennifer Connelly in the 2001 film '' A Beautiful Mind''. For her performance, Connelly won the
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 9th Academy Awards to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performanc ...
, mentioning Nash during her acceptance speech. Writing in the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'', Lisa Navarrette criticized Connelly's casting as an example of whitewashing.


References


Further reading

* ''A Beautiful Mind'' by Sylvia Nasar, 1998


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nash, Alicia 1933 births 2015 deaths American women physicists American physicists American computer programmers MIT School of Engineering alumni Mental health activists People from San Salvador People from West Windsor, New Jersey Road incident deaths in New Jersey Salvadoran emigrants to the United States Salvadoran people of French descent 20th-century American engineers 20th-century American women engineers 21st-century American women engineers 21st-century American engineers Engineers from New Jersey