Google Doodle Goes Radioactive for Radioactivity Research Pioneer Marie Curie

The two-time Nobel Prize winner would have turned 144 today.

Google

has been known for producing some

. At first glance, today's Doodle – celebrating Marie Curie – might seem like another obscure addition. But those who take the time to learn about this unique researcher will discover a woman whose accomplishments are anything but ordinary. Credited with the discovery of

, Curie (along with her husband, Pierre) was the pioneer in researching radioactivity. According to

, “In 1903, Marie and Pierre Curie were awarded half the Nobel Prize in Physics. The citation was, ‘in recognition of the extraordinary services they have rendered by their joint researches on the radiation phenomena discovered by Professor Henri Becquerel.' Henri Becquerel was awarded the other half for his discovery of spontaneous radioactivity.” In 1908, Curie was the first woman to become a professor at the Sorbonne in Paris, and in 1911, she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. According to the aforementioned nobelprize.org article, the citation by the Nobel Committee was, “in recognition of her services to the advancement of chemistry by the discovery of the elements radium and polonium, by the isolation of radium and the study of the nature and compounds of this remarkable element.”