Under the Radar: The First Woman in Radio Astronomy: Ruby Payne-Scott / Edition 1 in Bloomington, MN

It is rare for a complete biography of an Australian scientist, particularly of an Australian woman scientist, to be published. It is rarer for such a book to be co-authored by an American. Although scientists have written discourses on the history of their discipline, it is most unusual for a scientist to write a full length biography of a colleague in his field. It is also uncommon for a man to write about an Australian woman scientist; most of the work on Australian women scientists has been done by other women. However, these authors, both distinguished researchers in the field of radio astr- omy, became so interested in the history of their discipline and in the career of the pioneer radio astronomer Ruby Payne-Scott that they spent some years bringing this book to fruition. Until relatively recently, Ruby Payne-Scott had been the only woman scientist mentioned briefly in histories of Australian science or of Australian radio astronomy. This book will be an invaluable resource for anyone interested in these disciplines. Being scientists themselves, the authors explain Payne-Scott’s scientific work in detail; therefore, the value and importance of her contributions can, for the first time, be recognised, not only by historians but also by scientists.