The UW Polish Studies Endowment Committee presents three events about Marie Curie: a lecture “Madame Curie – Destiny Fulfilled” by Hanna Karczewski, an exhibition “The Lady of the Radium” at the University of Washington, and a screening of the biographic movie “Radioactive” at the Polish Cultural Center. Admission is free for all these events.

Marie Curie, born Maria Skłodowska, was the famous scientist who won two Nobel prizes, one in physics with her husband Pierre Curie and Henri Becquerel for their work on radioactivity and one in chemistry for her discovery of elements polonium and radium. She was the first woman to become a professor at the famous Sorbonne University. Her life was subject of many biographies and movies.

The lecture, based on materials provided by The Maria Skłodowska-Curie Museum in Warsaw, describes the life of a trailblazing scientist and woman, and is richly illustrated with photos from the period. This is a story of a woman who was way ahead of her time; a brilliant scientist and fervent patriot; a loving daughter, sister, wife, mother, and grandmother. True to the title, the lecture will highlight the circumstances which shaped her destiny.

Hanna Karczewski is a great-granddaughter of Maria’s sister Helena Skłodowska-Szalay (1866-1961), whom she remembers well from her childhood. Maria’s daughter Eva attended Hanna’s wedding in Detroit in 1969. Hanna donated some of Helena’s mementos to The Maria Skłodowska-Curie Museum and maintains regular ties with the museum. She holds a degree in biology from the University of Detroit and worked as a teacher and for the Northwestern Airlines. She has been living in the Seattle area since 1980 and was very active in the local Polish community, including serving as an officer of the Polish Home Association and helping with different events at the Polish Cultural Center.

The lecture is at Thomson Hall room 101 at the UW campus. Admission is free.

More: about Marie Curie, about the movie,