"What I enjoy most … is discovering new things about nature…that haven't been seen before, or figuring them out for the first time."

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Denise Freed

Born in Ithaca, New York, USA, 1964

B.A. in math and physics,

Cornell University

Ph.D. in physics,

Princeton University

Fields of work

Nuclear magnetic resonance, theoretical physics, (condensed matter physics, including the quantum Hall effect)

Areas of interest outside work

hiking, cross-country skiing, modern dance, writing, philosophy, and music.

As a child, I liked many things. I read a lot, worked on math puzzles, did little science experiments, explored the woods and creek by my house and hunted for rocks for my collections. My father was a chemistry professor and my mother taught high school history. I especially liked math, science and literature. Science seemed a much more practical route, a way combine doing something creative with something in which I could get a job.

Once I left graduate school, I had to convince people on my own to take me seriously. This can be a surprising challenge because as a graduate student, you essentially just have to convince your advisor you are doing good work. I pretty much just kept at it, continued to do my research, tried to change my area of research to ones with better job prospects, took advantage of opportunities that arose and tried to connect with the people who did show some respect for my work.

What I enjoy most in my job is discovering new things about nature—in particular physics and NMR—that haven't been seen before, or figuring them out for the first time. It is quite fun to work on a problem where I know I'll be able to do the calculation, but don't know the answer. I also like having people around who are interested in hearing about what I'm doing on an almost daily basis and can share in my excitement of discovery.

A lot of the blatant sexism that generations of women before us had to face does not exist any more. However, there are still many subtle (and some not-so-subtle) prejudices and hindrances. It can be very helpful to have some other women in science with whom to talk and share your experiences. It can often help to put things in perspective and not take things too personally. Also, it is important to build up a network of people—both male and female—to talk with in your field.