HÈlËne Langevin-Joliot, the granddaughter of Marie and Pierre Curie, will be on campus Feb. 11 and 12 as part of a nationwide lecture tour.
A professor of radiochemistry at the Institute of Nuclear Physics at the University of Paris at Orsay, she will speak on two subjects of special interest to her -- her family's remarkable legacy and women in science.
On Feb. 11, her topic is "The Curies, Radioactivity and Women in Science Education," at 3 p.m. in 322 Wheeler Hall.
The following day, Feb. 12, she speaks at 5:10 p.m. in 120 Latimer Hall on "The Curies and Radioactivity: Past and Present Challenges." This talk, sponsored by the Department of Chemistry, is in conjunction with the centenary of the discovery of radioactivity.
Langevin-Joliot, 65, has made several contributions in the field of radioactivity and is a member of the scientific advisory committee to the French Parliament's Office of Science and Technology.
In recent years, she has undetaken a mission to urge greater numbers of women to actively pursue and seek careers in scientific research and teaching.
Her grandparents were jointly awarded the 1903 Nobel Prize for Physics for their work on radioactivity. Marie Curie also won a second Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1911 for her discovery of the radioactive element Polonium.
Her parents, IrËne and FrÈdÈric Joliot-Curie, were jointly awarded the 1935 Nobel Prize in chemistry. They are credited with the discovery of artificial radioactivity.