Marie Curie: One of the Most Influential Women in Science

Scientific advances have been made possible due to the revolutionary work of previous masterminds of science. Without the early scientists who were just starting to discover the world, we wouldn’t know what we do today. One of these amazing scientists was Marie Curie. She was a woman of tremendous courage and determination and it is with her work that ushered the era of atomic power. Her amazing work with radioactivity and the discovery of two key elements have helped further many scientific discoveries and have set the foundation for many modern discoveries we have made.

Marie Curie was one of the shy girls, but yet one of the most famous scientists in the world. She could care less about the money, the fame, and the attention, science and research are the only things she thought about. She never did understand why people were so interested in her, her discoveries, why her?

Marie Curie worked to be her best during her schooling years and used every learning opportunity. As a young child, Maria’s father taught her advanced subjects like mathematics, geography, literature, languages, and sciences. Mr. Sklodowski worked as a science teacher, and later boarded children into their compact house to study. Maria was a prominent pupil, able to affirm correct answers in both Polish and Russian. In her teen years, she schooled in a tough russian boarding school, and graduated at age 15 as the first in her class. Maria won her school’s gold medal for academics. Without money for university, Maria

Marie Curie: A Pioneering Physicist Aspirations come from hopes and dreams only a dedicated person can conjure up. They can range from passing the third grade to making the local high school football team. Marie Curie's aspirations, however, were much greater. Life in late 19th century Poland was rough. Being a female in those days wasn't a walk in the park either.

Marie Curie, a pioneer in her field and Nobel Prize winning Chemist, took a path that few women of her time dared and unfortunately, her passion for Science would be her ultimate demise. From birth to death Marie Curie lived a full life, with love, work, and passion at the center.

The chapter starts out by describing how Marie and Pierre Curie made if not one of the best collaborations that science has ever seen due to their various

Marie Curie is the most influential person in history. Her discovery of radium and its uses in science and technology have grown rapidly throughout history, which has contributed to everything from health science to national security. Medical care and airport security would not be as accurate or efficient without X-ray machines and radiotherapy. Marie Curie’s discovery of radium transformed science, medicine, and the roles of women throughout history. As one of the first female scientists, Marie Curie was influential in expanding roles for women in society.

As the famous actor, Christopher Reeve once said, “A hero is someone who, in spite of weakness, doubt or not always knowing the answers, goes ahead and overcomes anyway.” All heroes have flaws, including Francis Crick, a revolutionary modern biologist who unraveled the secrets of deoxyribonucleic acid and Marie Curie, a hard working Polish scientist who discovered and isolated pure radium. These scientists are both famous for their perseverance and contributions to science. However, the many similarities they shared, even though they both lived in very different environments, go unnoticed. Despite living in different eras, Francis Crick and Marie Curie share very similar heroic characteristics, as they both have flaws, have helped society, and have multifaceted personalities, showing that, even as time changes, heroic ideals do not.

People discussed in the book includes those such as scientist Marie Curie whose discovery of Radium,almost ruined her career, and the writer Mark Twain, whose short story Sold to Satan featured a devil who was made of radium and wore a suit made of . Also discussed is Maria Goeppert-Mayer, a German-born American who earned a Nobel Prize in Physics for her groundbreaking work, yet continually faced opposition due to her gender.

Rosalyn Sussman Yalow graduated Hunter College as the first women to graduate in physics (Bauman et. al. 2011). She also led a way for acceptance and understanding of women’s role in science in America (Bauman et. al. 2011). She even inspired Mildred Dresselhous, who was a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and president and officer of many Associations including American Association for the Advancement of Science, to pursue the career she wanted (Bauman et. al. 2011). Rosalyn born to Clara and Simon Sussman in New York City, on July 19, 1921 (Brody 1996). She married Aaron Yalow on June 6, 1943 and had two children named Elanna and Benjamin (Brody 1996). In 1977, Dr. Yalow won the Nobel Prize in medicine and was the second women to ever accept such an award (Brody 1996). She also taught physics in New York until 1950 when the Veterans Administration (during World War II) was interested in exploring and researching radioactivity (Brody 1996). As her life progressed, Dr. Rosalyn Sussman Yalow became an inspiration for young women who want to be recognized and achieve something in their life (Brody 1996). From when she was a child she was fascinated with science and decided to achieve something no women really does. Rosalyn Yalow went to school and started working in the science field, she managed to help the world of radioactivity and radioimmunoassay, how Mrs. Rosalyn impacted the world of science, how Dr. Yalow impacted the lives of other women, and how she never lost her passion for science even in her last years.