{{Short description|French chemist (1920–2011)}} {{Infobox scientist | name = Alberte Pullman | honorific_suffix = | image = Alberte Pullman (cropped)2.jpg | birth_name = Alberte Bucher | birth_date = {{birth date |1920|08|26|df=yes}} | birth_place = Nantes, France | death_date = {{death date and age |2007|01|07|1920|08|26|df=yes}} | death_place = | fields = Quantum biochemistry | workplaces = CNRS | education = Sorbonne | spouse = Bernard Pullman | thesis_year = 1946 }} '''Alberte Pullman''' (née Bucher, 26 August 1920<ref name=":0">{{cite web|title=Alberte Pullman|url=http://www.iaqms.org/deceased/pullmana.php|publisher=iaqms.org|accessdate=11 October 2013}}</ref> – 7 January 2011) was a French theoretical and quantum chemist.
== Early life and education == Alberte Bucher was born on 26 August 1920 in Nantes, France.<ref name=":0" /> She studied at the Sorbonne starting in 1938. During her studies she worked on calculations at Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS). From 1943 she worked with Raymond Daudel, who had been Marie Curie's assistant.<ref name=":1">[https://10ca8303-b3dc-4a91-9dcc-2d2b91792b47.usrfiles.com/ugd/10ca83_3838bd19a41a4e83927cfc8fe0f50404.pdf 72 femmes de sciences pour la tour Eiffel] ''Femmes & Sciences'' (in French). Retrieved 2026-02-08</ref> She completed her doctorate in 1946, with a thesis on the electronic properties of carcinogenic aromatic hydrocarbons.<ref name=":0" />
== Career == Bucher was in Paris during World War II and worked on theoretical chemistry, applying her findings to the study of biomolecules and pharmacology, particularly the carcinogenic properties of aromatic compounds.<ref name=":1" />
Alberte Bucher married fellow scientist Bernard Pullman following his return from war service in 1946, and took his surname. Her findings in the early 1940s strongly influenced his work. She and her husband worked together until his death in 1996. Together they wrote several books including ''Quantum Biochemistry'', Interscience Publishers, 1963. Their work in the 1950s and 1960s was the beginning of the new field of quantum biochemistry. They pioneered the application of quantum chemistry to predicting the carcinogenic properties of aromatic hydrocarbons.<ref name=":0" />
<!-- Deleted image removed: 100px|Mme Professor Alberte Pullman --> She was a member of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science and a member and former President of The International Society of Quantum Biology and Pharmacology.<ref>[http://www.iaqms.org/members.php Members of IAQMS]</ref>
Pullman was Honorary Director of the Theoretical Biochemistry Department, Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, and Directeur de Recherche Emerite at CNRS.<ref name=":0" />
== Recognition == Pullman was nominated four times for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Burke |first=Maria |title=Nobel nominations analysis reveals factors behind who won in the past |url=https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/nobel-nominations-analysis-reveals-factors-behind-who-won-in-the-past/4017517.article |access-date=2026-02-20 |website=Chemistry World |language=en}}</ref>
Pullman was made an officier of the Legion of Honour in 1989, and promoted to commandeur in 1994.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Décret du 14 mai 1994 portant promotion et nomination - Légifrance |url=https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/id/JORFTEXT000000165202 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250416021545/https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/id/JORFTEXT000000165202 |archive-date=2025-04-16 |access-date=2026-02-20 |website=www.legifrance.gouv.fr |language=fr}}</ref>
== Commemoration == In 2026, Pullman was announced as one of 72 historical women in STEM whose names have been proposed to be added to the 72 men already celebrated on the Eiffel Tower. The plan was announced by the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo following the recommendations of a committee led by Isabelle Vauglin of ''Femmes et Sciences'' and Jean-François Martins, representing the operating company which runs the Eiffel Tower.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Eiffel Tower: a list of 72 women scientists will soon be inscribed on the Parisian monument |url=https://www.sortiraparis.com/en/news/in-paris/articles/340564-eiffel-tower-list-of-72-women-scientists-soon-to-be-honored-on-the-paris-landmark |access-date=2026-02-08 |website=www.sortiraparis.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2026-01-26 |title=Eiffel Tower to honor 72 women scientists for posterity |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/en/france/article/2026/01/26/eiffel-tower-to-honor-72-women-in-science-for-posterity_6749828_7.html |access-date=2026-02-08 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Les noms des 72 femmes pour la Tour Eiffel ont été révélés. |url=https://www.femmesetsciences.fr/news/les-noms-des-72-femmes-pour-la-tour-eiffel-ont-%C3%A9t%C3%A9-r%C3%A9v%C3%A9l%C3%A9 |access-date=2026-02-08 |website=Femmes & Sciences |language=fr}}</ref><ref name=":1" />
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.quantum-chemistry-history.com/Pull1.htm An interview with Mme Prof. Dr. Alberte Pullman]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Pullman, Alberte}} Category:1920 births Category:2011 deaths Category:20th-century French chemists Category:University of Paris alumni Category:Members of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science Category:Theoretical chemists Category:Scientists from Nantes Category:Knights of the Legion of Honour Category:Women scientists named on the Eiffel Tower