The Programme

Marie Curie was the first truly famous woman scientist in the modern world. She was known as the “Mother of Modern Physics” for her pioneer work in research about radioactivity, a word she coined. She was the first woman awarded a Ph.D. in research science in Europe and the first woman professor at the Sorbonne¹. Curie discovered and isolated polonium and radium, and established the nature of radiation and beta rays¹.

In 1903, Marie Curie became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, sharing it with her husband Pierre Curie and Henri Becquerel for their work on radioactivity³. She won another Nobel Prize in 1911 for her discovery of radium and polonium¹.

The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) is an EU funding programme that supports doctoral and postdoctoral researchers in Europe. It is named after Marie Curie because of her pioneering work in radioactivity and her role as a woman in science⁵.