Marie Curie Archives - Nucleation Capital

Marie Curie (1867 - 1934) was a physicist and chemist whose pioneering research in radioactivity won her two Nobel Prizes in two scientific fields. Referred to as the woman who opened the nuclear age, Marie Curie’s discovery of radium and its radioactive properties earned her this designation. She even coined the term radioactivity to describe the mysterious rays that French physicist Henri Becquerel discovered in 1896. In addition to her groundbreaking work in nuclear physics and chemistry, she developed the mobile X-ray unit which was first used to diagnose injuries during World War I.

Curie’s discovery of radioactivity in uranium and radium was the first indication that an energy source existed that was more powerful than chemical reactions. This opened the door to understanding the structure of the atom, to radiation therapy for cancer, and to the use of nuclear energy. Madame Curie decided not to take out a patent because “radium is not to enrich anyone, it is for all people.”

Born in Poland in 1867, Curie moved to France to study physics, chemistry, and math at the University of Paris in 1891. There she met her future husband and research partner Pierre Curie. She earned two degrees from the institution, one in 1893 and another in 1894.

In 1903, Curie and her husband received the Nobel Prize for their joint research in radioactivity alongside Henri Becquerel. They were responsible for the discovery of new elements radium and polonium which came from the radioactive mineral pitchblende, now commonly known as uraninite. She was the first woman to hold her position in the Faculty of Sciences at the Sorbonne and the first to win the Nobel Prize.

In 1910, she was successful in producing radium as a pure metal, further proving the element’s existence, and was awarded her second Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911. She remains the only person awarded a Nobel Prize in two areas of science.

Curie served in World War I as the director of the Red Cross Radiology Service. She created small, mobile X-ray units called “Petite Curies” which were vehicles containing an X-ray machine and darkroom equipment. She trained over 150 women to operate the units which ultimately helped treat over one million soldiers near the battlefront.

Curie died in 1934 of aplastic anemia, likely a result of her work with radiation.

Awards & Recognition

1903 – Received the Nobel Prize in Physics (with her husband Pierre Curie and Henri Becquerel)
1911 – Awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
1920 – Became the first female member of The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters
1924 – Became an Honorary Member of the Polish Chemical Society
Received 4 honorary doctorates from Polish universities
The radioactivity unit “curie” is named in honor of Marie and Pierre Curie
Element 96 was named curium

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Sources:

Versant Physics, "The Seven Most Influential Women in Radiation History."
Tomorrow's World Today, "Five of the Most Important Women in Nuclear Science."

Published by editor in Brilliant thinkers, History-making, Nuclear R&D, Women in Nuclear, WOMEN IN NUCLEAR GRID

Irene Joliot-Curie (1897 - 1956) was a chemist and physicist known for her work on natural and artificial radioactivity, transmutation of elements, and nuclear physics.

She was born in Paris, France in 1897 to Marie Skłodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie. She studied chemistry at the Radium Institute and completed her Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Paris. Her doctoral thesis focused on radiation emitted by polonium.

During World War I, Irene worked alongside her mother on the battlefield as a nurse radiographer. For a time, she also taught doctors how to locate shrapnel in soldiers using radiological equipment.

Alongside her husband, chemical engineer Frederic Joliot, Irene studied atomic nuclei. Together they were the first to calculate the accurate mass of the neutron and discovered that radioactive elements can be artificially produced from stable elements. The pair shared the 1935 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering the first artificially-created radioactive atoms, which had practical applications in radiochemistry, specifically in medicine and the treatment of thyroid diseases. In addition, her research on the action of neutrons on heavy elements was an important step in the discovery of nuclear fission.

Outside of her research, Irene was the Chair of Nuclear Physics at the Sorbonne and a Professor in the Faculty of Science in Paris. Beginning in 1946 she served as the director of the Radium Institute and was instrumental in the design of the Institute of Nuclear Physics in Orsay, France. She died in 1956 of leukemia, likely a result of her work with polonium-210. Her daughter, Hélène Langevin-Joliot (1927-present), is a retired professor of nuclear physics and third generation of Curie women working in nuclear science.

Awards & Recognition

1935 – Received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of artificial radioactivity (with Frederic Joliot-Curie)
1940 – Received the Barnard Gold Medal for Meritorious Service to Science (with Frederic Joliot-Curie)
Was an Officer of the Legion of Honour.

Sources:
Versant Physics, "The Seven Most Influential Women in Radiation History."
DOE Office of Nuclear Energy, "5 Women Who Changed History in Nuclear Science," March 24, 2023.

Published by editor in Brilliant thinkers, History-making, Nuclear R&D, Women in Nuclear, WOMEN IN NUCLEAR GRID