Guardian.UK, obituary: Irina Rakobolskaya, "Night Witch". October 17, 2016 by Garret Vreeland in History, Human Rights, Science She took her wartime conviction that “a woman can do anything” into her distinguished postwar career as a physicist at MSU. She studied cosmic rays – high-energy particles flying all over the universe at approaching the speed of light. She authored or co-authored some 300 academic publications, including six books and a textbook on nuclear physics. She was appointed professor of physics in 1977, and from 1994 held the lifetime position of distinguished professor.RIP, brave lady.