Marie Curi- The Successes of the first woman Chemist

November 7, 1867, Warsaw, Marie Curie was born.  She had a normal childhood and her mother was a high school teacher.  Her education was not great; however, she learned advanced science on the side with her father.  She left Warsaw in 1891 for Paris, France, to continue studying physics and mathematical sciences at the Sorbonne. In those subjects she gained licentiateships leading her to meet her future husband, the professor of the School of Physics, Pierre Curie.   In 1903, she obtained her Doctor of Science degree.  In 1906, her husband unfortunately died, leaving his position as Professor of General Physics to Marie.  This was a step forward for women at the time, for she was the first woman to hold that high position.  Till today, she can be considered the most famous woman scientist.

Marie and Pierre Curie were poor during these years, making laboratory experiments stressful to their economic situation.  Nevertheless, the Curies discovered polonium and radium through excellent researches inspired by the discovery of radioactivity by Henri Becquerel in 1898.  She named the two new elements in honor after her homeland, Poland.  To do this, Marie studied uranium radiations.  She and her husband created piezoelectric techniques to weigh the radiations in pitchblende.  Pitchblende is a dark mineral ore that contains deposits of uranium. She realized that there must be more unknown elements present because she found the radiation from the pitchblende was stronger than from pure uranium.  Radium became important as it helped reason our understanding of matter and energy.  Marie strongly conducted the use of radium to help medical treatment.  This newfound era of medical advancement helped relieve pain and suffering during World War I. 

The Curies were awarded the half of the Nobel Prize in physics for discovering the new elements.  The other half was awarded to Henri Becquerel for the radioactive elements he discovered, which was what started Marie’s research to the discovery of polonium and radium.  She won another Nobel Prize in chemistry for her research on the compounds of adium and radium. She also isolated pure radium which added to her success. In addition to her accolade of successes, radioactive isotopes she helped discover became extremely useful even till today.  Radioactive isotopes, radioisotopes, can be used in many things.  Radioisotopes are used in smoke detectors, agricultural applications, food irradiation, irradiation in pest control, archaeological dating, as well as nuclear medical uses.  Marie Curie can be considered the best woman scientist; she has won two Nobel Prizes, discovered Radium and Polonium, and has helped advance science on radiation and radioactive isotopes.