Research Statement
Marie Curie’s research combined precise physical measurements with chemical analysis. She studied the rays emitted by uranium and thorium compounds, then investigated highly active residues from pitchblende.
In 1898, Marie and Pierre Curie announced polonium and, with Gustave Bémont, radium. Curie’s later work included isolating radium and studying its properties.
Research Areas
Radioactivity
Experimental study of radiation emitted by uranium and other substances.
Radiochemistry
Identification and study of polonium, radium, and radioactive compounds.
Research themes
Radioactive emissions
Comparative measurements of radiation from uranium, thorium, and minerals such as pitchblende.
Polonium and radium
Chemical investigation of unusually active substances and the isolation and characterization of radium.
Research Impact
Curie’s work helped establish radioactivity as a field of research and earned her Nobel Prizes in Physics (1903) and Chemistry (1911). Her research also contributed to later scientific and medical uses of radioactive materials.