"My objective in life is to pass as much information along to others as possible," she says.

Better Times Ahead?

While Beutler and other women scientists from her generation have helped establish a place for women in scientific fields, Beutler says there is still unequal opportunity between the sexes.

"There is still a glass ceiling," she says. "Just a few stories higher."

And although Harvard women interested in science do not face the same level of discrimination the Radcliffe women did in Beutler's day, she says she feels discrimination is still an issue.

"I feel very strongly that Harvard is still a boy's college," she says. "The low number of tenured women shows that."

She added that she has spoken with several undergraduate women who say that "there aren't enough women faculty to talk to" and to serve as role models.

She says her disaffection from Harvard based on its treatment of women in the sciences has led her to donate money only to organizations that specifically target increasing the number of tenured women at Harvard, as opposed to contributing just to Harvard, or the Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Study.

China Myths and More

Strangely, and perhaps symbolically, Beutler never received the coveted china set despite holding rightful claim to it based on her wedding date.

"I thought it was a myth," she says.

And the men who told her that she would never be a physicist could be considered myths as well, according to Beutler.

For her career in the sciences was pursued against the grain of a male, and sometimes unfriendly, academic community. And while she struggled to balance her academic passions with the burdening task of raising a family, she says her story should give hope to students with similar scientific ambitions.

"I do not necessarily see myself as a role model, but I do encourage women in the sciences to pursue their academic interests," she concludes.