Author: Kees van der Beek

On the 17th of July 2021, Claudine Hermann passed away at the age of 75 in Villejuif (France).

Best-known for her tireless action in favour of gender equality in science, Claudine Hermann was an exceptional person by her wit and wisdom, her keen analysis of both scientific and societal problems, her dedication and commitment to helping others and the community, and her immense energy and work force. Claudine was a physicist of the highest level, and a wonderful colleague respected by all.

After her graduation from Ecole normale supérieure de jeunes filles in Paris in 1965, Claudine obtained her physics degree in 1969. She defended her thesis in condensed matter physics, and more specifically, on the measurements of the Landé factor of the conduction electrons in GaSb, in 1976. This, and later research would prompt Claudine to formulate a highly cited critique of the manner in which k•p type band structure calculations were hitherto performed, and to propose significant improvements.  Claudine occupied an assistant position at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris. She was later became lecturer, and then the first woman professor at the Ecole polytechnique in Palaiseau (France), where she was also the vice-president of the physics department from 1985 to 1992. Author of a monograph on statistical physics, Claudine’s lectures were highly praised by all and loved by students, and her contributions to all aspects of training, education, and physics research at Ecole polytechnique were numerous. We particularly cite her work on magneto-optics of metallic multilayers, on photoemission in activated semiconductors, and on optically detected magnetic resonance.

It is in the early 1990’s that Claudine started her action for the promotion of women in science. She joins the Demain la parité (“Equality tomorrow”) group in 1994, and co-authors several reports on young women’s enrolment and position in engineering curricula and in university. With Noria Boukhobzan, Huguette Delavault, and Corinne Konrad, she published Les Enseignantes-Chercheuses à l’université: demain la parité (“Lecturers at university: gender equality tomorrow?”, Harmattan, 2002). In 2000, Claudine co-authored the Science policies in the European Union: Promoting Excellence through Mainstreaming Gender Equality of the European Technology Evaluation Network (ETAN, Directorate General for Research of the European Commission). From 1999 to 2006, she would be an eminent member of the ETAN “Women and Science” group. Claudine would go on to author more than forty articles, books, and other authorative works, and has delivered countless lectures and addresses on the topic across the world.

Claudine Hermann was the co-founder and first president of the French association “Femmes et Sciences” (“Women and Science”), president of the European Platform of Woman Scientists, and a very active member, till the last, of the “Femmes et Physique” (“Women and Physics”) Commission of the French Physical Society SFP. As such, Claudine also very actively participated in EPS activities. Notably, Claudine regularly published in e-EPS, authored various editorials and columns, and was key in bringing about the EPS “Inspiring Physicists” calendar.

With the passing of Claudine, our community loses one of its most exceptional members. Her efforts to the advancement of the cause of women in science are no less than remarkable, and the example she sets unparalleled. Citing Claudine as she expressed herself in 2013: “Many young women ask me whether I am a feminist. If being a feminist means working for women to participate fairly and equally in society, then, ‘yes’, a resounding ‘yes’!”

Claudine Hermann - Image credit: Morinsan via Wikimedia