Natalia Victorovna Zotov was a physicist and mathematician who combined an academic career with religious life as a

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

. She published many papers in theoretical and statistical cosmology.

Early life and education

Zotov was born in

Karori Karori is a suburb located at the western edge of the urban area of Wellington, New Zealand, from the city centre and is one of New Zealand's most populous suburbs, with a population of in The name Karori used to be Kaharore and is from th ...

, Wellington, the daughter of Victor Zotov, who had emigrated from Russia with his parents as a 16-year-old in 1924, and Alice Zotov. In 1955, when she was 13, the family moved to

Christchurch, New Zealand Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over half a million. It is located in ...

where Victor worked as director of the botany division of the

Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, abbreviated DSIR was the name of several British Empire organisations founded after the 1923 Imperial Conference to foster intra-Empire trade and development. * Department of Scientific and Industria ...

. Educated at

St Margaret's College, Christchurch St Margaret's College is an independent girls' school in Christchurch, New Zealand, founded on Anglican Christian values. It offers the dual academic pathway of National Certificate of Educational Achievement, NCEA and IB Diploma Programme, Inte ...

and

Christchurch Girls' High School Christchurch Girls' High School () in Christchurch, New Zealand, was established in 1877 and is the second oldest girls-only secondary school in the country, after Otago Girls' High School. History Christchurch Girls' High School was establishe ...

, Zotov gained bachelors and masters (with honours) degrees in mathematics and physics, in 1963 and 1967 respectively, at

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...

. She sang in the choir of St Barnabas Church, Christchurch and played violin in an orchestra and duo.Natalia Zotov obituary
''The News Star'' (Louisiana), Mar. 9, 2012

Religious life

Zotov was brought up in the

Russian Orthodox The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

religion and was allowed to choose an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

church in Christchurch; she chose Anglican so her friends were surprised to learn she had joined the Catholic

Dominican Sisters The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilian priest named Dominic de Guzmán. It was approved by Pope Honorius II ...

in Dunedin, entering the

religious life Consecrated life (also known as religious life) is a state of life in the Catholic Church lived by those faithful who are called to follow Jesus Christ in a more exacting way. It includes those in institutes of consecrated life (religious and sec ...

at St Dominic's Priory, Dunedin in 1973. In 1981 Zotov took vows as a Sister for Christian Community.

Academic career

Zotov completed a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

cosmology Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe, the cosmos. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', with the meaning of "a speaking of the wo ...

at the

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

in 1974. During that time she worked as an assistant lecturer at the university. She then worked in the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research as a mathematician and at the Carter Observatory as an astronomer in 1975 and 1976. She was awarded a senior visiting fellowship at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

and was a visiting scientist at

Steward Observatory Steward Observatory is the research arm of the Department of Astronomy at the University of Arizona (UArizona). Its offices are located on the UArizona campus in Tucson, Arizona (US). Established in 1916, the first telescope and building were ...

of the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

in 1977 and 1978. Furthering her studies in the United States, Zotov worked in Illinois and Wisconsin, and then at

Gannon University Gannon University is a private Catholic university with campuses in Erie, Pennsylvania, and Ruskin, Florida, United States. Established in 1925, Gannon University enrolls approximately 4,600 undergraduate and graduate students annually. Its i ...

in Pennsylvania. While there, she spent two summers at the

Vatican Observatory The Vatican Observatory () is an astronomical research and educational institution supported by the Holy See. Originally based in the Roman College of Rome, the Observatory is now headquartered in Castel Gandolfo, Italy and operates a telescope a ...

in Rome, the first woman to work there as an astronomer. She joined the engineering faculty at

Louisiana Tech Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – Hig ...

in 1990 and, until her retirement in 2009, she was a professor of mathematics there. In addition to teaching, she was actively involved in

gravity wave In fluid dynamics, gravity waves are waves in a fluid medium or at the interface between two media when the force of gravity or buoyancy tries to restore equilibrium. An example of such an interface is that between the atmosphere and the oc ...

research at the LIGO Livingston Observatory in Louisiana. There she also mentored graduate and undergraduate students.

Honours and awards

Zotov was given the Lecture Prize from the University of Canterbury Mathematical Society in 1967.Williams, Deborah and Crean, Mike "Scientist devoted to religious faith", ''

The Press (Christchurch) ''The Press'' () is a daily newspaper published in Christchurch, New Zealand, owned by media business Stuff (company), Stuff Ltd. First published in 1861, the newspaper is the largest circulating daily in the South Island and publishes Monday t ...

'' 14 Jul 2012" page C15 Zotov was made a member of scientific research honor society

Sigma Xi Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is an international non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a faculty member and graduate students in 1886 and is one of the oldest ...

in 1995.

Death

Zotov died on March 2, 2012 at

Ruston, Louisiana Ruston is a small city in and the parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The 2020 population was 22,166. Ruston is near the eastern border of the Ark-La-Tex region and is the home of Louisiana Tech University. Ruston is the prin ...

, aged 69"Scientist looked to the stars", ''

Otago Daily Times The ''Otago Daily Times'' (''ODT'') is a newspaper published by Allied Press Ltd in Dunedin, New Zealand. The ''ODT'' is one of the country's four main daily newspapers, serving the southern South Island with a circulation of around 26,000 and ...

'', July 28, 2012 Page 32 from cancer. She had suffered from

scoliosis Scoliosis (: scolioses) is a condition in which a person's Vertebral column, spine has an irregular curve in the coronal plane. The curve is usually S- or C-shaped over three dimensions. In some, the degree of curve is stable, while in others ...

of the spine.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zotov, Natalia People educated at Christchurch Girls' High School 1942 births 2012 deaths 20th-century New Zealand Roman Catholic nuns Dominican Sisters University of Otago alumni Women astronomers New Zealand women mathematicians Converts to Roman Catholicism from Eastern Orthodoxy New Zealand Former Orthodox Christians People from Wellington City 20th-century New Zealand mathematicians 20th-century New Zealand astronomers 21st-century New Zealand astronomers 21st-century New Zealand mathematicians 21st-century New Zealand Roman Catholic nuns Louisiana Tech University faculty New Zealand expatriates in the United States New Zealand people of Russian descent