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young
Polish woman traveled economy-class
from Warsaw to Paris in autumn 1891. She had enough money to cover university
tuition, a small room and the cheapest food, but little else. Maria
Sklodowska left behind not only her beloved father and country but her
very name. She registered at the famous Sorbonne university as Marie,
the French form of Maria. Marie was not as well prepared as her
fellow students. Nevertheless, through hard work she completed masters
degrees in physics and math in only three years. Living on her own for
the first time, she focused so hard on her studies that she sometimes
forgot to eat. arie's superior work in physics won her a scholarship. And a group of industrialists, the Society for the Encouragement of National Industry, paid her to investigate the magnetic properties of different steels. To carry out the work she needed a lab. |