The Multi-Configurational Hartree–Fock approach to atomic-structure calculations relies on computational frameworks refined by Charlotte Froese Fischer over a career spanning several decades. Her theoretical predictions concerning the existence of the negative ion of calcium provided the basis for its subsequent experimental discovery, marking a pivotal advancement in the study of anions within Group 2 elements.
Academic Foundation and Early Research
Born in 1929 in Stara Mykolaivka, she relocated with her family to Canada and eventually settled in Chilliwack, British Columbia. She earned a B.A. in Mathematics and Chemistry in 1952 followed by an M.A. in Applied Mathematics in 1954 from the University of British Columbia. Her doctoral studies at the University of Cambridge, completed in 1957, involved coursework with Paul Dirac and supervision by Douglas Hartree. During this period, she assisted in programming the Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator to perform complex atomic-structure calculations.
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She returned to the University of British Columbia to join the mathematics faculty, where she served from 1957 until 1968. Her tenure there was marked by the introduction of numerical analysis and computer science coursework into the curriculum, and she played a significant role in establishing the institution's Computer Science Department. During the 1963-64 academic year, she conducted research at the Harvard College Observatory, becoming the first woman to receive an Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship.
Atomic Theory and Computational Contributions
Over her professional life, she authored more than 300 research articles. Her MCHF program, initially published in Computer Physics Communications, received two Citation Classics Awards in 1987. Beyond software development, she authored a monograph on Hartree-Fock approaches and published extensive spectral data covering beryllium-like to argon-like isoelectronic sequences. In her later career, she held positions as a research professor at Vanderbilt University and as a Guest Scientist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, starting in 2005.
Distinctions and Final Years
Her body of work earned her international recognition, including an Honorary Doctorate in Technology from Malmö University in 2015 and election as a foreign member of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences in 2004. She was a Fellow of the American Physical Society and held membership in the Royal Physiographic Society in Lund. She passed away in Maryland on February 8, 2024.
Fast facts
- Born: 1929, Stara Mykolaivka
- Died: 2024, Maryland
- Citizenship: Canada, United States
- Alma Mater: University of British Columbia, University of Cambridge
- Key Contribution: Multi-Configurational Hartree–Fock approach
- Significant Award: Fellow of the American Physical Society
- Employer: National Institute of Standards and Technology
Questions readers ask
What was the significance of her work on calcium?
She theoretically predicted the existence of the negative ion of calcium, leading to its experimental discovery as the first known anion of a Group 2 element.
What specific software did she develop?
She developed and implemented the Multi-Configurational Hartree–Fock (MCHF) approach for atomic-structure calculations.
Achievements
- Affiliated with Harvard University, University of British Columbia and National Institute of Standards and Technology
- Educated at University of British Columbia and University of Cambridge
- Worked as mathematician, physicist and chemist
