Marie Curie

As her famous words go, “One never notices what has been done; one can only see what remains to be done.” Indeed, that probably was what made Marie Curie the only person to have won two noble prizes in the science field. Born in the year 1867, this remarkable woman was a chemist and physicist of polish upbringing. Subsequently, she took up French citizenship and was the first female professor in the University of Paris. It was there when she met and married her husband, a fellow chemist, Pierre Curie. Together, they studied radioactive materials in hope of discovering new elements. On July 1898, they announced the existence of an element, which they named “polonium”, in honor of her native country, Poland. A few months later, they announced the existence of a second element, which they name “radium”. What I find most respectable about her is that she devoted her whole life to science and research in complete disinterest of self-gain. Both herself and her husband refused to file a patent application on their discovery of radioactivity in order to let the whole world benefit from its applications.

However, her contributions did not stop there. During the First World War, Marie helped the wounded soldiers with treatment based on a radium substance, later known as “little curies”. These “little curies” managed to save thousands of injured soldiers. Marie Curie even went on the extra mile to personally deliver the treatment to them. In addition, she even donated her and her husband’s prestigious gold Nobel Prize Medals for the war effort. This not only emphasizes her contributions to the science field, but also showcases her warm heart.

Unfortunately, Marie Curie’s work turned against her own life. She passed away on 1934 due to aplastic anemia, caused from the exposure to radiation. However, I am sure her dedication and self-less devotion will continue to serve as a role model not only to myself, but to everyone as well.