Inga Fischer-Hjalmars


Inga Fischer-Hjalmars was an internationally acclaimed Swedish physicist, chemist, pharmacist, humanist, and a pioneer in quantum chemistry. 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' Standing Committee on the Free Circulation of Scientists.

Biography

Fischer-Hjalmars's parents were civil engineer Otto Fischer and Karen Beate Wulff. She received her bachelor's degree in 1939, a master's in 1944, and continued with postgraduate, receiving her ”licentiat” in mechanics in 1949, and another in chemistry, in 1950. Fischer-Hjalmar was married to mechanical engineering professor Stig Hjalmar.
In 1949, she began work on her doctorate, which she gained in 1952 at Stockholm University, where she became an associate professor of mechanical and mathematical physics. During the period of 1959-63, she also ran a service laboratory in mathematical physics at the Royal Institute of Technology. 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 in the post and maintained Professorship till 1982. She was affiliated with the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, World Academy of Art and Sciences, and the International Council of Scientific Unions' Standing Committee on the Free Circulation of Scientists.

Awards