Eva Ramstedt

Eva Julia Augusta Ramstedt (15 September 1879 – 11 September 1974) was a Swedish physicist who specialized in radiology and studied under Nobel laureate Marie Curie. She was heavily involved in women's rights in academia and was among the founding members of an association for female academics now known as Kvinnliga Akademikers Förening. Due in part to the association's efforts, several legal changes were enacted that nudged Swedish female academics closer to having the same rights as their male colleagues, including a change to the Basic Laws of Sweden in 1909 and universal suffrage in 1921.

Family background and social origin Ramstedt was born in Stockholm in 1879, the daughter of Johan Ramstedt—a politician and Governor-General who briefly served as Prime Minister of Sweden in 1905—and Henrika Charlotta Torén. She grew up in an environment with significant social and economic capital.

Education

Ramstedt was born in 1879, in Stockholm, Sweden to a family with notable socioeconomic capital due to her father, Johan Ramstedt's, work as a politician. After earning her doctorate, Ramstedt studied under Marie Curie at Sorbonne University in Paris.

Throughout her career, Ramstedt collaborated with many other scientists. Some of her most notable work was produced through her collaboration with Norway-based radiochemist Ellen Gleditsch. They studied radiology, specifically the half-life of radium. In 1917, they published a book on the subject called Radium och radioaktiva processer. As a result of her work, Ramstedt received the Illis quorum of the eighth degree in 1942.

Details regarding her research in Paris In 1910–1911, she spent a year at the Sorbonne in Paris studying radioactive processes, where she received direct training from Marie Curie and expanded her expertise in experimental physics.

Scientific work and expeditions During her time at the Nobel Institute of Physical Chemistry, Ramstedt published the essay On the activity of the undissociated molecule in ester catalysis (1915) and participated in an expedition to observe the solar eclipse in Strömsund, where she measured atmospheric electricity.

Notable scientific contacts Ramstedt established strong scientific relationships with prominent researchers of the era, including Lise Meitner, a pioneer in nuclear physics, and the radiochemist Ellen Gleditsch, with whom she co-authored the work Radium och radioaktiva processer (1917).

Other roles and social functions In addition to her scientific and teaching activities, Ramstedt served as vice-chair of the board of the Stockholm Women's Technical School (1920) and was the secretary and later president of the Sällskapet Nya Idun association between 1921 and 1939.