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On Marie Curie And Me, Sharon L. Stephenson

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

When people discover I am a nuclear physicist, they often say, "Oh, like Marie Curie!" And yes, I am like Marie in that I have woman parts, I study nuclei, I have two children and a physicist husband. But had I lived in her time, I would not have been that rare female admitted to the Sorbonne. I could not have quietly made the top scores on the math and physics examinations. I am impulsive and thin-skinned, my occasional cleverness passing for deeper talent. I would probably have been a cleaning girl, pregnant at 15, unable to speak any language …