Lise Meitner

Lise Meitner (November 7, 1878, Vienna – October 27, 1968, Cambridge) was an Austrian-Swedish physicist.^[1] She had a very large role in discovering nuclear fission. She received her doctorate in physics from the University of Vienna in 1906.^[1] Her work with two other scientists influenced the discovery and creation of the atomic bomb.^[1]

Meitner was of Jewish descent and converted to Lutheranism.^[2]

Starting in 1907, Meitner worked with a man named Otto Hahn. She worked with Hahn throughout her entire career. Working together, they completed a lot of work in chemistry. Hahn won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, even though his work had been with her. The reason that she did not win the prize was that she was a woman. She did attend the ceremony though.

In 1914, Meitner volunteered as an X-ray technician in the Austrian army during World War I. Meitner was also the first female professor in Germany. She became a German professor in 1917. Throughout the 1920s, Meitner worked mostly on radiation. She won many prizes and awards. Around 1935, Meitner and Hahn worked together to learn more about uranium. The element Meitnerium is named after her. Later in Meitner’s life, she had many discoveries that led to the creation of the atomic bomb. She worked to make possible the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima but she did not agree the atomic bomb.

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} "Lise Meitner." Scientists: Their Lives and Works, UXL, 2006. Student Resources in Context, Accessed 31 Mar. 2017."
2. ↑ www.washingtonpost.com