"Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and, above all, confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained." ~ Marie Curie
Marie Curie, née Maria Skłodowska, was born in Warsaw, Poland on November 7, 1867, the fifth and youngest child of Bronisława and Władysław Skłodowski. Maria became a famous physicist and chemist and pioneer in the field of radioactivity. She was the first person to receive two Nobel Prizes.
Maria's parents, and even a grandparent, had been distinguished teachers who encouraged their children to excel scholastically. But after losing their fortune through their support of national Polish uprisings, the Sklodowskis became financially unable to provide university educations for all the children.
Maria was determined to attend university, and made a deal with her sister Bronislawa. Maria would provide financial assistance during Bronisława's medical studies in Paris, and then after her own graduation, Bronisława would support Maria's studies. Maria worked as a governess and tutor to keep her end of the bargain.
After Bronisława graduated, Maria went to Paris in 1891 and began her own studies. Even with her sister's help, she needed to continue tutoring in the evenings to support herself. In 1894 she met Pierre Curie, Professor in the School of Physics. Pierre Curie was a brilliant inventor and researcher, and was conducting experiments on magnetism. Maria was also researching in the field, and the relationship blossomed - they were married in1895. Meanwhile, the couple found time to have their first daughter, Irène Curie, in 1897.
For the next decade, Maria and Pierre, now life partners as well as brilliant collaborators, immersed themselves in their laboratories and produced world-changing scientific breakthroughs in radiation, earning them the Nobel Prize in Physics for 1903.
After the Nobel, the Sorbonne gave Pierre a full professorship and his own laboratory. Maria became the director of research, and in 1904 gave birth to their second daughter, Eve Curie.
But tragedy struck in April, 1906, when Pierre was killed in a freak accident. While crossing a rainy street, he was struck and killed by a horse-drawn carriage. Maria, devastated, nevertheless pressed forward with their work. She took his place as Professor of General Physics in the Faculty of Sciences, and was the first woman to hold such a position. Later, in 1914, she was appointed Director of the Curie Laboratory in the Radium Institute of the University of Paris.
Maria also founded the Curie Institutes in Paris and Warsaw. She devoted herself to her studies of radiation, and discovered and isolated two new elements. One she called "polonium" after her native country Poland, and the other she named "radium". For this work she received her second Nobel Prize, this one for chemistry.
Maria is only one of two people to be awarded Nobel prizes in two separate fields. The other was American scientist and peace activist Dr. Linus Pauling, who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry and the Nobel Peace Prize.
Even after two Nobel prizes, Maria continued to be rebuffed by the French Academy of Sciences, because she was a woman. Continuing its historic misogyny, the Academy refused to elect her as a member.
Many years later, in 1935, Irène Joliot-Curie and her husband Frédéric Joliot-Curie won their own Nobel Prize in Chemistry for work in the field of artificial radiation. Then, one of Maria's doctoral students, Marguerite Perey, became the first woman elected to the Academy. The bigots finally had to admit they were wrong about women and science - even though it didn't happen until 1962 - 51 years after snubbing Maria!
As the old saying goes, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Today, Maria's granddaughter Hélène, Irène's daughter, is a nuclear physicist and professor at the University of Paris. And Irène's son Pierre is a biochemist at the National Center for Scientific Research.
Maria Skłodowska-Curie, or "Marie Curie" as she became known in the English media, demonstrated that a devotion to one's beliefs and long, hard hours of effort can pay off with incredible rewards.
At Novus, nothing is more gratifying than helping our patients achieve success in their quest for freedom from substance abuse. Many of them have put in long hard hours of effort in trying to detox before coming to Novus. We thought you might like to read a success story from one of these successful patients.
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Retired Businessman:
(methadone)
"I believe Novus is the only existing institution that could safely and compassionately detox me from methadone. I believe God guided me to Novus. I will always be extraordinarily grateful to Novus.
Every single staff member from Stacy to Tim to Jean to JJ gave me loving care, outstanding service and their complete and thorough attention. The food is simply the very best...nutritional, delicious, beautifully presented and when I wanted to eat. Elegant interior superbly maintained. Pastoral grounds provide therapeutic value for recovery.
I flipped an incredibly positive 180 degrees during my visit. I have a clear mind and a clear heart for the first time in 47 years. I leave with clear, precise, positive major life-changing goals.
I feel young again in mind and spirit; and confident that in time my body will be that of a 40 year old (I am 64).
I find myself overwhelmed with gratitude for having 'The Novus Experience'. I have met and befriended remarkable people - both fellow guests and staff; people who have taught me lessons that will thrill me, enrich me, develop and help me for the remainder of my days. Novus has made me a better person, eager to realize my full potential.
I am stronger, healthier and more fit, in both mind and body than I have been in more than forty years." |
