The aim of the project is to increase the visibility of women in physics, create inspiring role models and dispel clichés. "We want to show how diverse physics is and inspire young women to study physics," emphasises Dean's Officer Dr Isabella Kappner, who co-initiated the project.

Customised format for the BUW

The idea was born at a conference for female physicists in 2022, where students Melike Konerding Karasu and Lena Tarrach came across the "Physicist of the Week" format organised by the Equal Opportunities Working Group of the German Physical Society (DPG). Back at the university, they suggested simply linking the content to the faculty website. However, it quickly became clear that instead of simply adopting an existing initiative, the university wanted to develop its own format, customised for the University of Wuppertal and its female physicists.

Kappner created the framework conditions to turn a promising idea into a sustainable project. "We didn't just want to show that women work in physics - we wanted to tell their stories, make their paths visible and do away with prejudices," she explains. Together, a catalogue of questions was drawn up, suitable communication channels defined and the first portraits selected. Since then, Lena Tarrach, who is now a doctoral student in Theoretical Chemical Physics, has been conducting the interviews and writing the articles for the website, while Melike Konerding Karasu prepares the content for social media.

Diverse paths into physics

The female physicists are selected in a variety of ways: those interested can put themselves forward, be nominated by others or be specifically approached. The range of portraits shows impressively that female physicists have very different careers - some knew early on that they wanted to study physics, others only found their way to the subject via detours. Kappner finds the answers to the question of which clichés the female physicists want to dispel particularly fascinating. "It's amazing - and sometimes frightening - to see the prejudices that women are still confronted with in the natural sciences. These perspectives make it clear why our project is so important."

The response to the "Female Physicist of the Month" format has been great, especially on social networks. "We have not yet carried out a detailed analysis of the impact on enrolment figures for physics degree programmes, but we can see that our contributions are generating interest far beyond the university," says Kappner. In addition to the scientific aspects, there is also plenty of humour: a particularly popular question is about the "nerdiest" experience of the female physicists - with often unexpected and amusing answers.

A multifaceted and lively picture

With its commitment, the series contributes to conveying a multifaceted and lively image of physics and creating role models for future generations. "Physics is not only exciting, but also an excellent subject to study - and we want to show that it is accessible to everyone," says the Dean's Officer.