Lise Meitner Was Denied a Nobel Prize But Made It Onto the Periodic Table
Born to a Jewish family in Austria in 1878, Lise Meitner faced tremendous obstacles to her success in science. Her father, one the first Jewish lawyers to practice law in Austria, was a trailblazer in his own right. He hired tutors to support his daughter’s budding curiosity. However, when Meitner wished to study science at university, her father encouraged her to become a teacher instead. She passed her teaching certification but decided to enroll at the University of Vienna to study physics. Meitner was a brilliant student, completing her Ph.D. in Physics with the highest honors. After graduating, she struggled to find a research position. In 1907, she moved Berlin, where she spent the next 30 years of her career.
Meitner was not allowed to work in a lab in an official capacity in Berlin. Instead, she worked for several years without pay with chemist Otto Hahn. After their joint discovery of the radioactive element protactinium, Meitner got her own lab. She eventually became the first female physics professor at the University of Berlin. During this time, she began studying nuclear fission, a term that she coined. She was forced to flee Germany in 1938 due to Hitler’s rise to power. After arriving safely in Sweden, Meitner immediately continued her research. She was instrumental in uncovering the process of nuclear fission. But only her longtime collaborator Hahn received the Nobel Prize after downplaying her role in their research. Nonetheless, Meitner went on to become one of the most highly regarded scientists in her field and a tireless champion for women in science. In 1992, the 109th element on the periodic table, ​​Meitnerium, was named in her honor.
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