REIKO TORIUMI

»When I was doing my PhD in Irvine, California, in the U.S., the physics
department became about 30% female – the faculty, post-docs, and
PhD students. I think the normal percentage is around 20%. When
that happened, I realized how comfortable I felt in that environment,
with more women. That was when I realized I actually had been uncomfortable
all the way up until that point, even though I hadn’t really
thought about it before then.«

»Theoretical physics has become such a large part of me that I can’t
imagine not having chosen this path. It’s basically who I am. It’s not like I
was actively encouraged by others to enter this field, so I feel that I really
did pave my own way, actively cultivated my career. I feel that the path
wasn’t laid out for me – I cultivated it.«

»[…] I think being in academia is very difficult. There were lots of
challenging times that I wouldn’t want to go through again. And it’s very
likely that if you’re a woman in academia, you won’t have the same sort
of life as your other female friends. So I also wouldn’t want to overly
encourage any young female mathematician or theoretical physicist.
I’d just say, keep going, because there are probably going to be lots of
sacrifices you will have to make, and difficulties along the way.«