Bianca Tchoubar
Bianca Tchoubar | |
|---|---|
Б'янка Чубар | |
| Born | 22 October 1910 |
| Died | April 24, 1990 (aged 79) Paris |
| Employer | French National Centre for Scientific Research |
| Known for | chemist specialising in reaction mechanisms |
Bianca Ilyinichna Tchoubar (Ukrainian: Б'янка Чубар; 22 October 1910 – 24 April 1990) was a French Ukrainian chemist specialising in reaction mechanisms.[1]
Early life and education
Bianca Ilyinichna Tchoubar was born on 22 October 1910 in Kharkiv, Ukraine, then part of the Russian Empire. Her family were Karaits Jews. In 1920, Tchoubar and her family left Ukraine for Paris, travelling via Constantinople and Budapest.[2][3]
In 1924, at the age of 14, Tchoubar began her studies in France. In 1931, she earned her bachelor's degree in science and in 1932, her diplôme d'étude supérieur, undertaking a Study of molecules and charged particles under her mentor, Professor Paul Freundler.[3]
Career
Tchoubar was recruited by chemist Marc Tiffeneau when the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) was set up. In 1937, she was appointed as a research intern and then became a research assistant in 1945.[2][3] During World War II, Tchoubar was involved with the French Resistance and was a lifelong communist.[3]
In 1946 Tchoubar defended her doctoral thesis Contribution à l'étude des extensions de cycles. Désamination nitreuse des aminométhyl-1 cyclanols-1 (Contribution to the study of cycle extensions. Nitrous deamination of aminomethyl-1 cyclanols-1). The chair of her examination board was physicist Edmond Bauer.[4]
Tchoubar introduced new ideas in reaction chemistry, became a senior research fellow in 1955 and in 1960 published a compendium entitled Les Mécanismes réactionnels en chimie organique[5] (Reaction Mechanisms in Organic Chemistry), which was translated into six languages.[5] The book was nicknamed "la petit Tchoubar" in honour of its usefulness.[3]
Tchoubar was appointed research director at the CNRS and became director of Group No. 12 (GR12) in Thiais. She worked there until her official retirement in 1978.[3]
Post retirement, Tchoubar retained a place in the laboratory and embarked on new areas of research: the effects of solvents on E2/SN2 competitions, and reactions.[2]
Tchoubar co-authored a book with André Loupy on Les Effets de sels en chimie organique et organométallique.[6]
From 1974 onwards, and especially after her retirement from management, Tchoubar embarked on research into transition metal chemistry, a field that was new to her. Her research was carried out in close collaboration with the group led by Alexander E. Shilov.[2][3]
Bianca Tchoubar died on 24 April 1990 in the 15th arrondissement of Paris.
Publications
- Tiffeneau, Marc; Weill, Paul; Tchoubar, Bianca (1937). "Isomérisation de l'oxyde de méthylène cyclohexane en hexahydrobenzaldéhyde et désamination de l'aminoalcool correspondant en cycloheptanone". C. R. Hebd. Séances Acad. Sci. (in French). 205: 54-56. ISSN 0001-4036..
Commemoration
In 2026, Tchoubar was announced as one of 72 historical women in STEM whose names have been proposed to be added to the 72 men already celebrated on the Eiffel Tower. The plan was announced by the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo following the recommendations of a committee led by Isabelle Vauglin of Femmes et Sciences and Jean-François Martins, representing the operating company which runs the Eiffel Tower.[7][8][9][1]
References
- ^ a b 72 femmes de sciences pour la tour Eiffel Femmes & Sciences (in French). Retrieved 2026-02-15
- ^ a b c d Agnès Jacquesy; André Loupy; Michel Gruselle (2015). "Bianca Tchoubar, la révolution des mécanismes". L'Actualité chimique (in French) (397–398): 8–10.
- ^ a b c d e f g Pierre Laszlo, How an Anglo-American Methodology Took Root in France, Bulletin for the History of Chemistry, vol. 36, no 2, 2011, « Bianca Tchoubar (1910–1990) » et « The Audience for Little Tchoubar's Book », p. 77-79.
- ^ Sarka-SPIP, Collectif. "Tchoubar Bianca – Historique de l'ICSN". historique.icsn.cnrs-gif.fr (in French). Retrieved 2017-03-08.
- ^ a b "Les Mécanismes réactionnels en chimie organique". researchgate.net.
- ^ Loupy, André (1988). Effets de sels en chimie organique et organométallique. [Paris]: Dunod. ISBN 978-2-04-016986-2.
- ^ "Eiffel Tower: a list of 72 women scientists will soon be inscribed on the Parisian monument". www.sortiraparis.com. Retrieved 2026-02-15.
- ^ "Eiffel Tower to honor 72 women scientists for posterity". 2026-01-26. Retrieved 2026-02-15.
- ^ "Les noms des 72 femmes pour la Tour Eiffel ont été révélés". Femmes & Sciences (in French). Retrieved 2026-02-15.