September, 12, 1897 - Birth of Iréne Joliot-Curie, shared the Nobel Prize for the synthesis of new radioactive elements

Daughter of Marie and Pierre Curie, she studied physics and mathematics at the Sorbonne University in Paris, France.

During World War I, she left her studies to work as a radiological nurse assisting her mother. In addition, she led the development of X-ray diagnostic devices in military hospital facilities in Belgium and France for which she received the Military Medal after the war.

In 1918, he became his mother's assistant at the Radium Institute (now known as the Curie Institute) in Paris and completed his doctoral thesis on polonium alpha rays. It was at this time that she met and married Frédéric Joliot in 1926, and they took the name Joliot-Curie.

Together with her husband, she began her research in the field of nuclear physics. They searched for the structure of the atom and in particular the structure and projection of the nucleus, which was fundamental for the later discovery of the neutron (1932) and the positron (1932). In 1934, they succeeded in artificially producing radioactive elements. This discovery changed the entire periodic table as more than 400 radioisotopes were added.

In 1935, they were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work on the synthesis of new radioactive elements, and, in subsequent years, the Joliot-Curie couple extended their work with the identification of the products of nuclear fission and became involved in the debate on the social impact of the use of radioactivity.

For more information on this scientist, click on the following link: Iréne Joliot-Curie

Access to the best

educational
resources

on Energy and Environment
Go to resources