Goeppert-Mayer, Maria (1906-1972)

German-born US physicist who studied the structure of the atomic nucleus. She was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1963 for her explanation in 1948 of the stability of particular atoms, which envisaged atomic nuclei as shell-like layers of protons and neutrons, with the most stable atoms having completely filled outermost shells. She shared the award with Eugene Wigner and Hans Jensen.

Goeppert was born in Kattowitz, Upper Silesia (now Katowice in Poland), and studied at Göttingen. Emigrating to the USA in 1930, she was professor at Chicago 1946-60 and at the University of California from 1960.

In 1945, Goeppert-Mayer developed a ‘little bang’ theory of cosmic origin with US physicist Edward Teller to explain element and isotope abundances in the universe. This led her to study the stability of nuclei. In 1948, she published evidence of the special stability of the following numbers of protons and neutrons: 2, 8, 20, 50, 82, and 126. These are commonly called magic numbers.

She and Jensen independently proposed a shell model, and in 1955 they wrote a book together, Elementary Theory of Nuclear Shell Structure.