Lotte Pusch was born on 7 August 1890 in Reichenbach/O.L. and was a German

physical chemist Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mecha ...

. She was of the

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

denomination. Her father was a District Court Director.

Education

Pusch visited secondary schools in

Pleß Pleß is a municipality in the district of Unterallgäu in Bavaria, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to ...

, Glogau (later called

Głogów Głogów (; , rarely , ) is a city in western Poland. It is the county seat of Głogów County, in Lower Silesian Voivodeship. Głogów is the sixth largest town in the Voivodeship; its population in 2021 was 65,400. Among the oldest towns in Po ...

), and

Görlitz Görlitz (; ; ; ; ; Lusatian dialects, East Lusatian: , , ) is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is on the river Lusatian Neisse and is the largest town in Upper Lusatia, the second-largest town in the region of Lusatia after ...

before deciding to attend the Mädchen-Realgymnasium Chamissoschule school in

Schönberg Schönberg () may refer to: Places Austria *Schönberg im Stubaital, a municipality in the district of Innsbruck-Land, Tyrol *Schönberg am Kamp, a town in the district of Krems-Land, Lower Austria Belgium *Schönberg (Sankt-Vith), a part o ...

. She later attended the ''Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität'' (later the

Humboldt University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

).Lotte Pusch ''Über die Zeitreaktion bei der Neutralisation der Kohlensäure und die wahre Dissoziationskonstante der Kohlensäure'' PhD thesis, Universität, Berlin, 1916. 37 pp. (29 March 1916).Vogt, 1998, 24-25. During her first two semesters, she focused on mathematics, physics, and chemistry. In 1913, Pusch passed her university exams and began to study for her Ph.D. in

physical chemistry Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mech ...

. She earned her doctorate in March 1916 after passing her doctoral exam on January 20, 1916.

Career

Upon receipt of her doctorate, Pusch, in the summer semester of 1916, became the only female ''Assistent'' (assistant) at the ''Physikalisch-Chemischen Institut'' at the ''Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität''. She was hired in as a civil servant based upon Article 128 in the

Weimar Constitution The Constitution of the German Reich (), usually known as the Weimar Constitution (), was the constitution that governed Germany during the Weimar Republic era. The constitution created a federal semi-presidential republic with a parliament whose ...

, which is listed as abolishing discriminatory regulations against women civil servants. During this time, Lotte worked with

Walther Nernst Walther Hermann Nernst (; 25 June 1864 – 18 November 1941) was a German physical chemist known for his work in thermodynamics, physical chemistry, electrochemistry, and solid-state physics. His formulation of the Nernst heat theorem helped ...

in regards to the Photo-Induced Chain Reaction of Chlorine and Hydrogen. They looked to find the mechanism for why this reactions is able to produce a large quantum yield. She held the position until 1920. By law, as a civil servant, she was required to relinquish her position to a returning man, in this case Dr. Kurt Bennwitz. In addition, she gave up her career in favor of her husband, the physical chemist

Max Volmer Max Volmer (; 3 May 1885 – 3 June 1965) was a German physical chemist, who made important contributions to materials science, photochemistry, and electrochemistry. Along with Weber, Volmer made early and pivotal contributions to the developme ...

Personal

Lotte and Max knew and socialized with the

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

Lise Meitner Elise Lise Meitner ( ; ; 7 November 1878 – 27 October 1968) was an Austrian-Swedish nuclear physicist who was instrumental in the discovery of nuclear fission. After completing her doctoral research in 1906, Meitner became the second woman ...

and the

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

Otto Hahn Otto Hahn (; 8 March 1879 – 28 July 1968) was a German chemist who was a pioneer in the field of radiochemistry. He is referred to as the father of nuclear chemistry and discoverer of nuclear fission, the science behind nuclear reactors and ...

from the 1920s onwards. Lotte also documented some of these conversations between Lise and Max.Sime, 1997, 526.

Selected literature

*Lotte Pusch ''Über die Zeitreaktion bei der Neutralisation der Kohlensäure und die wahre Dissoziationskonstante der Kohlensäure'' PhD thesis, Universität, Berlin, 1916. 37 pp. (29 March 1916) *Lotte Pusch ''Über die Zeitreaktion bei der Neutralisation der Kohlensäure und die wahre Dissoziationskonstante der Kohlensäure'', ''Zeitsch. Elektrochem.'' Volume 22, Issues 11/12, 206–212 (1916) * Lotte Pusch ''Nachtrag zu meiner Arbeit: Über die Zeitreaktion bei der Neutralisation der Kohlensäure und die wahre Dissoziationskonstante der Kohlenäure'', ''Zeitsch. Elektrochem. '' Volume 22, Issues 15/16, 293 (1916) *Lotte Pusch ''Zur Anwendung des Einsteinschen photochemischen Äquivalentgesetzes. II.'', ''Zeitsch. Elektrochem.'' Volume 24, 336 – 339 (1918)

Bibliography

*Schmitt, Ulrich T. "Walther Nernst." Memorial. Physicochemical Institute University of Göttingen, 9 Dec. 1999. Web. 15 Mar. 2016. . * Sime, Ruth Lewin ''Lise Meitner: A Life in Physics'' (University of California, First Paperback Edition, 1997) *Vogt, Annette ''Aufbruch und Verdrängung. Wissenschaftlerinnen an der Berliner Universität zwischen 1918 und 1945/46'', 21-48 in ''Frauen an der Humboldt-Universität 1908–1998'' Volume 99 (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
1998
*Weimar Constitution. Art. 128-131, Sec. 2

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pusch, Lotte German physical chemists 20th-century German chemists 1890 births 1983 deaths Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin German women chemists