Epfl fellowes marie curie biography

A year later, she obtained her master's degree in mathematics, also at the Sorbonne. At the Sorbonne, she met and married Pierre Curie, another instructor. Together they studied radioactive materials, particularly pitchblende, the ore from which uranium was extracted, which had the curious property of being more radioactive than the uranium extracted from it.

By they deduced that the pitchblende must contain traces of an unknown radioactive component far more radioactive than uranium: on December 26th Marie Curie announced the existence of this new substance. Over several years of unceasing labour they refined several tons of pitchblende, progressively concentrating the radioactive components, and eventually isolating the chloride salts refining radium chloride on April 20, and then two new chemical elements.

The first they named polonium after Marie's native country Poland, and the other was named radium from its intense radioactivity. Both were common diseases in the 19th century. Maria herself proved to be a very bright child and did very well at school. Unfortunately at that time, women were not allowed to go to University. That meant Maria would have to study abroad.

So in , she made an arrangement with her sister Bronia. In turn, when Bronia left and got a job she would support Maria while she went to University. So Maria worked as a governess until when she began studying at Sorbonne University in Paris. Since she was living in France Maria started calling herself by the French version of her name, Marie.

Marie did very well at University and in she gained a degree in Physics. In she gained a degree in Maths. Despite her success, Marie continued to face great opposition from male scientists in France, and she never received significant financial benefits from her work. By the late s her health was beginning to deteriorate. She died on 4 July from leukaemia, caused by exposure to high-energy radiation from her research.

The Curies' eldest daughter Irene was herself a scientist and winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. Search term:. Read more. In , Curie won her second Nobel Prize, this time in Chemistry, for her discovery of radium and polonium. While she received the prize alone, she shared the honor jointly with her late husband in her acceptance lecture.

Around this time, Curie joined with other famous scientists, including Albert Einstein and Max Planck, to attend the first Solvay Congress in Physics and discuss the many groundbreaking discoveries in their field. Curie died on July 4, , of aplastic anemia, believed to be caused by prolonged exposure to radiation.

Epfl fellowes marie curie biography

She was known to carry test tubes of radium around in the pocket of her lab coat. Her many years working with radioactive materials took a toll on her health. Curie made many breakthroughs in her lifetime. Remembered as a leading figure in science and a role model for women, she has received numerous posthumous honors. Marie became the first and one of only five women to be laid to rest there.

In , Amazon announced the development of another biopic of Curie, with British actress Rosamund Pike in the starring role. The Biography. We have worked as daily newspaper reporters, major national magazine editors, and as editors-in-chief of regional media publications. Among our ranks are book authors and award-winning journalists.

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