5/4/2021

Dear International Group of Scientists,

My name is Isabella Rennaker and Marie Curie should be the first scientist introduced to
the Science Hall of Fame.

Marie Curie was born on November 7, 1867 in Warsaw, Poland. She studied at The
Sorbonne and The University of Paris. She was married to Pierre Curie from 1895 - 1906. She
has won numerous awards including the John Scott Legacy Medal and Premium (1921), the
Davy Medal (1903), the Willard Gibbs Award (1921), the Benjamin Franklin Medal (1921), the
Matteucci Medal (1904), the Albert Medal (1910), the Elliott Cresson Medal (1909), Actonian
Prize (1907) and the Nobel Prize in both Chemistry (1911) and Physics (1903).

Marie Curie and her husband, Pierre, discovered Radium and that it destroys diseased
cells. This discovery led to the conclusion that radium can be used to treat cancerous tumors.
Although Radium is no longer used to treat tumors, it allowed radiotherapy and nuclear
medicine to advance and develop further. Marie made many more discoveries including the
discovery of radioactivity, isolated pure radium and Polonium. Fun fact, Polonium gets its name
from Marie’s homeland. Marie also studied radioactive substances and their medical
applications during WWI which changed the medical field during that time. Marie Curie was the
first woman to win a Nobel Prize and is the first person to ever win two Nobel Prizes. Marie has
helped found two very important and successful foundations such as the Curie Foundation in
Paris and the Radium Institute of Warsaw. Marie’s work also contributed to other scientists'
major discoveries. Marie’s understanding of the need to accumulate intense radioactive sources
led to experiments led by Irène and her husband, Frédéric Joliot-Curie which led to discovery of
the neutron by Sir James Chadwick. Marie’s contributions to the research of radium played a
huge role in the development of the atomic bomb. Marie was also the first female professor at
the University of Paris.

Marie Curie changed the world with her discoveries. She was not only the first woman to
win a Nobel Prize but she is the only person to ever win a Nobel Prize in two fields of science
(Chemistry and Physics). All of her discoveries and contributions have led to many new
discoveries and developments in science. If one person deserves to be the first in the science
hall of fame it is Marie. Scientists always go unnoticed but especially women scientists. Putting
her as the first in the science hall of fame would make sure her work, discoveries and
contributions would never go unnoticed.

Sincerely,

Isabella Rennaker