In Her Element: Women and the Periodic Table

A Los Alamos National Laboratory researcher who confirmed the existence of element 106, seaborgium. Darleane discovered the isotope fermium-257 could split spontaneously.

Discoverer of protactinium. The heaviest known element was named after Lise for her research in the 1930s and 40s, and she’s received an Enrico Fermi Award for her work, a top honor from the U.S. Department of Energy. The element meitnerium was named after Lise.

Studied radioactive decay and determined a new element could be produced in the process.

Helped refine the separation process for ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium, and platinum. Julia was the first woman to get a doctorate in chemistry in Germany.

Her work as a nuclear engineer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s 252-Californium Campaign helped discover tennessine, a synthetic chemical element (117). Photo from Battelle Memorial Institute.

She suggested the term “isotopes” to the man who received credit for coining the term. Margaret was a doctor in Scotland and published author. Read more about her. •Harriet Brooks – Studied radioactive decay and determined a new element could be produced in the process.

Marie discovered the elements Polonium and Radium in the late 1890s when she was working on radioactivity. The element Curium (96) was named in her honor.

First scientist to propose the concept of nuclear fusion in her paper “On Element 93”. Helped discover two elements, one of which was formally accepted at the time. She was nominated for a Nobel Prize three times.

Discoverer of francium, which was the last element to be discovered in nature. Marguerite started working as a lab tech at age 19

Helped discover six new elements in her work at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, elements 113-118.

Clarice Phelps is a nuclear chemist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory who was the first African-American woman to contribute to the discovery of an element in the Periodic Table (117) tennessine.