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Honoring Marie Curie: Legacy of Scientific Excellence and Achievements

Leadership

Mathematics in Radioactivity and Scientific Disciplines

Business Honor
07 November, 2024

Marie Curie’s groundbreaking discoveries in radioactivity earned her two Nobel Prizes and revolutionized science

On 7 November, celebrating the birthday of Marie Skłodowska-Curie, one of the most influential scientists, whose contributions to radioactivity and nuclear physics revolutionized the scientific world. She was born in Poland in 1867 and had early signs of being a natural scientist but, as a woman, did not have so many opportunities for education: she wasn't even accepted by the University of Warsaw, due to being female. There could also have been no end to such discouragement because she chose to live in Paris to go to the Sorbonne for study, where she learned physics and mathematics.

In 1895, Curie married Pierre Curie. She and her husband then published a series of monumental discoveries, including the identification of two new elements: polonium, named after her homeland, and radium. Her groundbreaking work on radiation led her to share the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 with her husband and Henri Becquerel, making her the first woman to ever be awarded a Nobel Prize.

However, that was not all her achievements. In 1906 she became the first woman ever to be appointed professor in physics at the Sorbonne. Then, again in 1911, she won a second Nobel Prize-for the year-a Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of radium and polonium. She has won the Nobel Prize in two different scientific disciplines.

Away from the laboratory, Curie during World War 1 also had something more to offer in the form of mobile X-ray units coined "Little Curies" to be used in the treatment of wounded soldiers. She died on 4 July 1934 due to an illness brought about by extended exposure to radiation.

Scientific legacy and advocacy for women in STEM, generation after generation of researchers pursuing innovations for the betterment of humankind: in a nutshell, that is how one can define Marie Curie as one of the most influential scientists in history.