Marie Curie was published posthumously in 1935. The physical and societal aspects of the Curies' work contributed to shaping the world of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Cornell University professor Williams observes: If Curie's work helped overturn established ideas in physics and chemistry, it has had an equally profound effect in the societal sphere. To attain her scientific achievements, she had to overcome barriers, in both her native and her adoptive country, that were placed in her way because she was a woman. This aspect of her life and career is highlighted in Françoise Giroud's "Marie Curie: A Life", which emphasizes Curie's
Nobel Prize in Physics rendered by the discovery of the remarkable rays (or x-rays). This award is administered by the Nobel Foundation and widely regarded as the most prestigious award that a scientist can receive in physics. It is presented in Stockholm at an annual ceremony on 10 December, the anniversary of Nobel's death. Through 2018, a total of 209 individuals have been awarded the prize. Only three women (1.4% of laureates) have won the Nobel Prize in Physics: Marie Curie in 1903, Maria Goeppert Mayer in 1963, and Donna Strickland in 2018. Alfred Nobel, in his last will and testament, stated that his