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Marie Curie's Accomplishments

  • Writer: Alice Yoo
    Alice Yoo
  • Nov 5, 2024
  • 4 min read

Difficulty Index ★★★☆☆


Annie Wu '27


Marie Curie is one of the most iconic figures in the history of science, not just because of her groundbreaking discoveries, but also because of her role as a pioneering woman in a male-dominated field. She is the person we must talk about in the Nobel Prize series; as the first woman to win a Nobel Prize—and the first person to win it twice—Marie Curie’s life is a testament to perseverance, brilliance, and a passion for science that changed the world.



Born in Poland in 1867, Marie faced many obstacles from the beginning. Even though she was born into a family of education and excelled in studies, she couldn't attend university because Polish institutions only offered admission to men. However, she was undeterred and found ways to learn by herself. Through all the efforts she made, she moved to Paris to attend the Sorbonne University–one of the most pivotal choices she made in her lifetime. At Sorbonne, she earned degrees in physics and mathematics, becoming the first woman in the school to receive a doctorate. She also met Pierre Curie, a physicist whose love for science matched hers. Their partnership, both in life and in the lab, became a driving force behind some of the most important scientific breakthroughs of the time.


In 1896, Marie discovered that uranium emitted mysterious rays that intrigued her. That lighted her mind to continue investigating the mysterious emitted radiation. At the time, the nature of this radiation was unknown, but she quickly realized with her husband that uranium alone couldn’t account for the strong radiation she was observing. She concluded that there must be something else hidden inside the ores that is more radioactive, or at least boosted the radioactivity of uranium. This groundbreaking conclusion led to the discovery of radium and polonium in 1898, marking a critical turning point in science. 


These two elements, far more radioactive than uranium, held the key to understanding the mysteries of radiation. Especially, radium went on to revolutionize the medical field, offering a new powerful tool in the battle against cancer. By the early 1900s, radium’s ability to destroy diseased cells became instrumental in cancer treatment, laying the foundation for what we now know as radiation therapy. This leap in medical science, allowing doctors to treat tumors non-invasively, is one of the many ways Marie’s discoveries still impact our lives today.


Marie and Pierre’s work soon got recognized; in 1903, Marie and Pierre were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their research on radioactivity. However, the misfortune came quickly. Just three years later after receiving the Nobel Prize, when they were thrilled by their achievements, Pierre Curie lost his life in a car accident, leaving his wife devastated.


Nonetheless, Marie Curie’s story doesn’t end in a tragedy. Curie showed remarkable resilience in the face of personal grief. She stepped into Pierre’s role at the Sorbonne and became the first female professor at the university. She continued to work with the same determination that had always been with her. In 1911, she won her second Nobel Prize, this time in chemistry, for isolating pure radium. This achievement made her the only person to have won Nobel Prizes in two different scientific fields, an accomplishment that remains unmatched even today.


What’s particularly remarkable about Marie Curie is that despite the immense value of her discoveries, she never sought to profit from them. She refused to patent the process of isolating radium. Instead, she chose to share it with the world. This decision, rooted in her belief that science should serve humanity, accelerated advancements in the field of radiation and allowed researchers worldwide to build upon her work. 


Yet, the price she paid for these breakthroughs was huge. In years of working with radioactive materials, her health deteriorated day by day. By the time of her death in 1934, she was suffering from severe bone marrow disease and organ damage caused by radiation exposure. Even today, her notebooks and personal belongings are radioactive and need to be handled with special protective clothing. Her ashes were also stored in a special lead tomb to prevent the radiation that would last for thousands of years. Her sacrifice reminds us of the risks scientists often take in pursuit of knowledge and her unwavering dedication to her research until her final days.


Beyond her scientific accomplishments, Marie’s story is deeply significant for another reason—she was a woman who shattered every barrier in her path. In an era when women were not expected, let alone encouraged, to contribute to science, Curie not only succeeded but thrived. She became the first female Nobel laureate, the first female professor at Sorbonne University, and remains the only person to win Nobel Prizes across Physics and Chemistry. Her journey, from the daughter of educators in Poland to a world-renowned scientist, exemplifies the power of perseverance and passion in overcoming societal expectations. She paved the way for future generations of women to follow in her footsteps, showing that creativity, intellect, and determination have no difference between genders. Through all her work and contributions to the science field, Marie Curie left an indelible mark in this world, which we should always honor and remember.



Works Cited


The Nobel Prize | Women who changed science | Marie Curie. (n.d.). https://www.nobelprize.org/womenwhochangedscience/stories/marie-curie





Wikipedia contributors. (2024, November 4). Marie Curie. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Curie

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