Einstein called her “the most significant, creative mathematical genius thus far produced since the higher education of women began” and without Emmy Noether’s contribution theoretical physics wouldn’t be what it is today. She developed what is today known as Noether’s Theorem- what many also call the “most beautiful equation of mathematical physics” and that too when she was on a supposed break from mathematics. Her theorem explains the laws of conservation and its connection to symmetry. Noether also helped develop the ring theory, and while Noether’s work has been central to both mathematics and physics, a lot of people have no idea who she was or about her contributions.
Noether was born in the Bavarian city of Erlangen in Germany to Jewish parents in the year 1882. She was supposed to teach English and French in schools for girls, but she instead chose to study mathematics at the University of Erlangen- which wasn’t as easy as you might think it was. At that time participation of women in academia was frowned upon so Noether had to audit classes as an assistant for a long time until Erlangen finally started accepting women as doctoral candidates- all this when Noether had already topped the entrance exam. After Noether got her PhD she worked a lot with abstract algebra, some even claim that she “invented” the field of abstract algebra. She published a lot of papers during her research years at Erlangen but she was given no salary nor was she ever raised to the ranks of a professor, her family paid for her room at the university. After some years when mathematicians David Hilbert and Felix Klein invited Noether to work with them at the University of Gottingen, the authorities said that it would be improper for a woman to join the faculty, so again Noether worked without any pay under Hilbert as his assistant.
While Einstein is today a household name, Noether’s theorem was the actual genius behind the theory of relativity. When Hilbert and Klein invited her to look at the problem of energy conservation in Einstein’s infamous equation, Noether suggested her theorem, which said that whenever you can observe symmetry in the nature, some fundamental quantity is conserved. By symmetry she meant that no change must take place in a physical process even if you change the set up. Today this idea of symmetry is so fundamental to physics that the standard model of particle physics is largely based on it. When the Nazi government came into power, Noether, like many other Jewish academicians, was forced to quit her job, which led to her fleeing to America where she soon started teaching at Princeton University. While Noether’s stint at Princeton was terribly short due to her death in 1935, Noether’s contribution shouldn’t be ignored.