The University of Jordan News
UJ Marks 150th Birth Anniversary of "Marie Curie"
As part of the worldwide celebration of the 150th birth anniversary of the double-Nobel laureate "Marie Curie", the Department of Physics at UJ on Tuesday, December 12, organized a commemorative day entitled "Marie Curie Day 2017 at UJ".
 
Although she was born on 7 November 1867, LAMBDA Physics Group decided to celebrate in December, as she was scientifically born in that month. Indeed, she succeeded in isolating the element polonium for the first time in December, and got the 2 Noble prizes in December 1903 and 1911 respectively.
 
Marie Curie's biography has been presented in a special way by LAMBDA Physics Group under the title "Marie Curie: the Eternal Student", highlighting her personal life, achievements, challenges, and success stories, and focusing on the amount of conflicts she faced and her struggle to attain her goal.
 
Regarding her significant contributions to science, she discovered with her husband Pierre Curie polonium and radium and they won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903, and she won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911 few years after his death.
 
She was the first female professor at the University of Paris, developed a theory for radioactivity, and invented techniques for separating radioisotopes. Under her supervision, the first studies of the treatment of tumors were carried out using radioisotopes. She also established the Curie Institutes in Paris and Warsaw.
 
In her capacity as a national contact point of Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), Ms. Muna Zaqsaw from the Higher Council for Science and Technology delivered a presentation about MSCA grants, highlighting the basic requirements and the application procedure for both students and faculty members, and confirming that MSCA grants cover all scientific and social fields. The applicant should be from a developing country, willing to travel abroad, and have a research experience.
 
Zaqsaw also praised the efforts of LAMBDA Physics Group, expressing her deep appreciation for what they presented. She was very much impressed by their innovative and touching presentation even more than she ever felt when she personally visited the places where this famous scientist was born and lived in Poland and France.
 
Dean of the School of Science, Dr. Sami Mahmood, praised the extracurricular activities carried out by the Department of Physics in general and Lambda Physics Group in particular. "Such activities could expose the students to the lives of science pioneers and thus encourage them to follow similar tracks," he said.
 
Dr. Hanan Sa'adeh, the event's organizer, confirmed that this activity was part of the "Marie Curie Day 2017" celebrated internationally since about two months. Curie, Sa'adeh said, had dedicated her life to science and scientific research, and believed that the joy of scientific research is priceless and cannot be compared by any sort of pleasure in life", indicating that celebrating such a great scientist all over the world is a clear evidence that "science has no homeland and genius is not subject to the laws of nationalities."
 
"Marie Curie's entitlement to the Nobel Prize was not easy and was not a coincidence, but was accompanied by a distinguished academic achievement. She was the topmost student in the Department of Physics and the second topmost student the Department of Mathematics; which confirms that outstanding academic achievement is a good indicator of hard work and solid scientific background, especially in scientific fields," She also added.
 
It is noteworthy that the team "Lambda Physics Group" is a scientific group of physics lovers and fans, initiated by Dr. Hanan Sa'adeh at the Department of Physics, since 2015.
2017/12/20