In the movies, Dr. Jane Foster, portrayed by Natalie Portman, is an astrophysicist that ends up working with Thor. She made a mathematical model about the kind of wormhole Thor uses to get to Earth. SHIELD, a spy organization that specializes in superhuman matters, confiscates her data and all her equipment. That’s about the extent of the science in the movie. It seems like she is a scientist only for the plot device of SHIELD stealing her information. Other than being a plot device, her other purpose in the first Thor movie is to be a love interest for Thor.
In the second Thor movie, she is back investigating more portals to other worlds that have shown up. Dr. Foster ends up being sucked into one and taken to another world where she absorbs the Aether, which is a mysterious force. The rest of Thor: the Dark World is spent trying to get the force out of her, and she doesn’t end up doing any more science.