The Birthday of Anna J. Harrison (1912) – Mathematics in Chemistry

Anna Harrison was a chemist who understood the critical role of mathematics in chemistry: stoichiometry (balancing equations), kinetics (differential equations), quantum chemistry (eigenvalue problems), and statistical mechanics (ensembles). She was the first female president of the American Chemical Society. Her work on molecular spectroscopy used group theory (point groups) to classify energy levels. Mathematics is the language of chemistry – from the simplest reaction to the most complex protein folding.