Pure Science: Marie Curie and the American Gift

Introduction by Wendy Singer

“Changing the world, one woman at a time,” announces the American Association of University Women (AAUW) on its Web site. And in 1921 that woman was Marie Curie, who, even after winning the Nobel Prize twice—once for physics and once for chemistry—could not afford one gram of radium for her research. Through a massive solicitation effort, the Association of Collegiate Alumnae (which became AAUW in 1921) raised $150,000 on her behalf.