Seaver College Alumna Saylor Stottlemyer Presents First English Translation of Marie Curie's Final Book
Seaver College alumna Saylor Stottlemyer ('25) presented the first English translation of chemist and physicist Marie Curie’s final book, L'Isotopie et les Éléments Isotopes (1924), at the American Association of Teachers of French Conference (AATF) in Chicago on July 7. Stottlemyer attended the event with mentor Kelle L. Marshall, Seaver College professor of French studies and French studies program coordinator.
Facilitated by Pepperdine’s Summer Undergraduate Research Program and the Academic Year Undergraduate Research Initiative, both of which provide resources for faculty-student research collaborations, Stottlemyer was afforded the opportunity to showcase her work at AATF. There she spoke on the art of translation along with the historical and scientific contexts in which Marie Curie wrote her final book, proposed reasoning as to why Curie’s book had remained untranslated, and offered advice to current French teachers interested in involving interdisciplinary studies into their curriculum.
Stottlemyer presenting at AATF
“While at Pepperdine, I treated every class as an opportunity to find my own academic interests, all with hands-on faculty guidance,” says Stottlemyer. “I am grateful to the French studies program, along with all the programs I was involved in, for giving me the environment to have this level of freedom with my education.”
Alongside her French studies major, Stottlemyer also majored in chemistry and religion with a minor in Great Books. While completing her French studies senior capstone project, she was encouraged by Marshall to individualize her academic path by applying her French language skills to the interpretation and translation of scientific material.
Selecting Curie’s final book L'Isotopie et les Éléments Isotopes (Isotopy and Isotopic Elements)—a comprehensive account of radiochemistry in 1924—Stottlemyer soon discovered that no complete published English translations were available. In consultation with Marshall, Stottlemyer broadened her project to encompass translation of the entire 200-page book. Requiring Stottlemyer to expand the scope of her linguistic competency, this work involved the interpretation of complex concepts such as the separation of isotopes and the classification of radioelements along with analyzing a collection of diagrams, measurements, equations.
“Through her curiosity and commitment to academic excellence with this ambitious project Saylor exemplifies Seaver’s mission,” says Marshall. “In Seaver’s French studies program we employ a pedagogy of care where each student’s flourishing is just as important to us as communicating and engaging with course content. It is a joy for us to be able to accompany Seaver students like Saylor as they develop both their academic abilities and their sense of self as whole persons.”