Maria Sklodowska-Curie
Maria Skłodowska- Curie focused on studying uranium during her thesis (1). She was able to determine that uranium’s radiation was dependent and proportional to the amount of uranium that was present, and was the first person to declare that an atomic property of uranium was radiation. Interestingly, Maria was also able to determine that thorium also produced radiation. The ionizing rays that thorium and uranium produced was stated as radio-activity by Maria. Further in her career she identified two new elements on the periodic table being Polonium and radium.Through the foundations of the field of radiochemistry being paved by Maria and Pierre Curie and Becquerel, they received the Nobel prize in 1903. Maria obtained a second Nobel prize for her ability to isolate radium into a pure metal. This meant that she was the first woman to win a Nobel prize (2).
References:
Pospieszny T. 2019. Maria Skłodowska-Curie – the first lady of nuclear physics. J Contemp Brachytherapy. 11(6):505–509. doi:10.5114/jcb.2019.91221.
Rockwell S. 2003. The life and legacy of Marie Curie. The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine. 76(4–6):167