orig. Maria (Gertrude) Goeppert
born June 28, 1906, Kattowitz, Ger.
died Feb. 20, 1972, San Diego, Calif, U.S.
German-born U.S. physicist.
She immigrated to the U.S. in 1930, where she taught at various universities. She worked on the separation of uranium isotope s for the Manhattan Project . Her work in theoretical physics led to the explanation of properties of atomic nuclei based on a structure of "shells" occupied by protons and neutrons. For her work she was awarded a 1963 Nobel Prize, which she shared with Hans Jensen (190773) and Eugene Wigner .