Women in Science: Chicago Honors the 150th birth anniversary of Marie Skłodowska-Curie

Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) and the Chicago Cancer Health Equity Collaborative (ChicagoCHEC) co-hosted the inaugural Women in Science Conference on September 18-19, 2017 on the University’s Main Campus located in the Albany Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. In conjunction with Northeastern’s sesquicentennial celebration, this two-day conference honored the 150th anniversary of the birth of Marie Skłodowska-Curie, the mathematician, physicist and chemist who conducted early research on radioactivity. The Conference program (https://chicagochec.org/event/women-in-science/) brought together scholars, educators, students of all ages, their families and the Chicago community at large to celebrate the life, work, and accomplishments of Marie Sklodowska-Curie. Marie was the first woman to win the Nobel prize and the only person to receive two Nobel prizes in two different disciplines. This conference honor Marie for her discovery of radium and polonium, her remarkable push for the clinical adaptation of her laboratory-based findings to quickly benefit medical patients, and her extraordinary contribution to the fight against cancer.
Conference events included renowned international speakers from various fields of study, seminars, roundtable discussions, hands-on laboratory activities as well as a screening of the 2017 film “Marie Curie: The Courage of Knowledge.” One laboratory experience in particular, entitled “Kids Who Stay Curie-ous” was especially designed for children in the primary grades and higher. Children of all ages and teachers-in-training had the opportunity to work in a lab with Marie (Emma Battaglia) and her daughter, Irene (Anna Ciecierski) to create an atomic model, observe a chemical reaction and examine x-rays. Other NEIU faculty in the laboratories included Drs. John Albazi, Chemistry and Nabil Kahouadji, Mathematics. Finally the Embassy of the Republic of Poland showcased a photography exhibit on Curie’s life, work and legacy.
NEIU President Emeritus, Sharon Hahs (Doctor of Chemistry) presided over the opening ceremony. Welcome remarks were also delivered by Tatiana Vallaeys, attachée for Science and Technology for the Consulate General of France and Piotr Siemoniuk, Vice-Consul for the Consulate General of Poland. The evening’s ceremonies also featured a memoir prepared by Professor Witold Zatonski, former Director of the Maria Skłodowska-Curie Institute of Oncology in Warsaw, Poland and read by Nephrologist...


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