June 25th marked the 112th anniversary of Marie Curie’s announcement of her discovery of radium, a critical component in the development of x-rays and radiology. For her work on radioactivity, Curie earned the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 and the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911.
Curie’s inspiring story helped pave the way and inspire many future women in STEM. While Currie may have been the first, she was not the last. There have been many women since Curie that have made a tremendous impact in science. Between 1901 and 2014, 46 women in total have been award the Nobel Prize. Of the 46 winners, 16 have been for STEM related achievements. While the following women may not be household names, they have impact our way of life and drastically changed the field of science.
Here are a few women who paved the way in chemistry and physics:
