MADRID, Spain
Consuelo Flecha, director of the Chair of History of TA, tells us an anecdote that, once again, makes us realize the path that the first women of the TA opened for women of later generations and in many cases, they place them in the category of "pioneers", at least in Spain.
«On the eve of February 11th, the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, the Department of Information of the Teresian Association received a message, signed by a researcher from the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain, requesting information on the biography of María Domínguez Astudillo (Zamora 1895-Madrid 1985). She was part of the group of pioneering geologists to whom they were going to pay a small tribute in the Geological Society of Spain for being the first woman who published an article in a Spanish scientific magazine about a topic of Earth Sciences.
Through the collaboration with the Historical Archives and the Chair of History of the Teresian Association, this person was provided with information on the professional and vital career of María D. Astudillo.
From the response received to our contribution, we would like to highlight two evaluations: The first, "I am overwhelmed by María Domínguez Astudillo's curriculum. How brilliant! And much more when you consider the time in which she lived!". And the second: "In her work in the Geological Bulletin, I was struck by how she explains in her introduction the importance of her work for society.". Two features of her way of being in the professional work that identify her as a member of the Teresian Association.
We thank Itziar Aguinagalde for the following chronicle that allows us to know how the celebration event took place.»
II Women and Geology Conference
On February 11th, the second encounter of "Women and Geology" was held in Madrid, organized by the Geological Society of Spain (SGE) with the collaboration of the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain (IGME), a Public Research Organization linked to the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities of this country. The event was hosted by the "Foundation Gómez-Pardo" in its building next to the School of Mining Engineers of the Spanish capital.
This conference wanted to pay homage to the women geologists who opened the way in a world mostly represented by men. Four women geologists spoke about their experiences since they graduated in that branch of science.
Thus, Casilda Ruíz spoke about her 50-year experience as a pioneer geologist at the IGME, although her professional work ended at the School of Mining Engineers. When she started her degree at the Complutense University of Madrid, there were only two women out of a total of 90 students.
Another geologist now dedicated to the exploration of oil in remote areas such as Siberia or Namibia, talked about the difficulty of spending long periods of time in entirely male crew ships.
Esther Boixereu, geologist from IGME, presented the topic: " Pioneer professional geologists in Spain." She talked about several women with knowledge in Paleontology who illustrated many scientific treatises thanks to their drawing skills and their knowledge in fossil organisms. She also spoke of some women pioneering geologists, among them María Domínguez Astudillo.
And here we must make some clarifications. María Domínguez Astudillo was not a geologist, but a graduated chemist when she made her most significant scientific contributions in her long career as a researcher at the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC). Then, why does she appear in this context of geologists and professionally mostly linked to the IGME?
Very simple, María completed her doctoral thesis at the IGME (1941-1943) once she finished her degree in Chemical Sciences. The theme of her work was: "Influence of gypsum in the flotation of lead and zinc sulphides. Elimination of such influence." Her thesis is preserved in the IGME and was edited by the Bulletin of the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain in 1943.
From 1949 her name appears among the personnel of the Rocasolano Chemistry-Physics Institute. After a stay at the Radiochemical Laboratory of Cambridge, she founded in their Center the Radiobiology Laboratory with patience, craftsmanship and little funding. These efforts of the Rocasolano researchers were essential for the implementation of new lines and methodologies in the scientific development of Spain.
In 1952 Bernardo Giner de los Ríos wrote about this Institute and others that together formed the so-called "Rockefeller Building": "There was one of the most intellectual and moral type of nuclei that Spain has had." The newspaper El Sol wrote: "The workday in the Physical Investigation Laboratory is from eight in the morning to eight in the evening, with no free days except Sundays and people are paid only after a few years of meritorious work."¹ This is the significant and recognized scientific task carried out by María D. Astudillo in the CSIC until her retirement and after it, since she continued for a few more years after her retirement.
Text: Itziar Aguinagalde.
Photos: Historical Archives of the TA.
Translation: C. Zabalegui and R. Cameron.
¹ 75 years of research in the Rockefeller Building of CSIC (1932-2007). Carlos González Ibáñez and Antonio Santamaría García, Eds. Madrid, 2009.