Scientists with Vision: Professor Zohra Ben Lakhdar

Biodata

Born: 1943 in Tunis.

Education: B.Sc. in physics, University of Tunis; PhD in Atomic Spectroscopy, University of Paris VI.

Occupation: Since 1978 Professor of Physics, University of Tunis; Director of research laboratory in atomic and molecular spectroscopy and applications; President of Tunisian Optical Society.

Honors: 1994 elected to the Islamic Academy of Sciences; senior associate member at the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP); Ministry of Culture award for the development of research activities in Tunisia; 2004 L'Oréal-UNESCO Women in Science Award

Professor Ben Lakhdar, could you begin by explaining your field, spectroscopy, to the uninitiated among us?

Spectroscopy is about analyzing bodies according to the spectrum of light emitted or absorbed by matter. What does that mean? Think of the planets, stars, galaxies, which are beyond our reach. - How is it that man is able to get information about them and photograph them? It is thanks to light. Light is the messenger of the universe. Light informs us about the state of matter throughout the universe and even about the universe's past.

Light is a set of waves through space. So the "messages" are presented as waves. Each atom has its own way to send its message. This is its "spectra", its own set of waves. So spectroscopy is the common language of atoms. When you know how to read these waves, you understand the language of atoms and molecules.

You grew up in a time and culture where female scientists were few. What effect did this have on you?

When I was young, everyone used to say that science was difficult for men, and impossibly difficult for women. Only men were supposed to be any good at calculus, and the only goal for a woman was to get married and have a family. I wanted to show that there was no difference of ability between men and women, and to demonstrate to the world that I could work in science.

I did my primary schooling, in the 1950s, in cities (Mahdia and Jemmal) where the highest diploma women obtained was the Certificate of Primary Studies, and none of the girls I was with obtained it. In those days, girls went to school for three, four or maybe five years, and then got married at the age of 15. No girl thought of going on to secondary school. That meant going to another city. For me the nearest city was Sousse, which was 25 kilometers away, and that...