Irène Joliot-Curie won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1935. She shared the award with her husband, Frédéric Joliot-Curie, for their discovery of induced radioactivity and the synthesis of new radioactive elements.
Their work showed that stable elements could be transformed into radioactive isotopes by nuclear reactions. This made it possible to create artificial radioisotopes, which later became valuable in medical diagnosis, cancer treatment, biology, and chemistry. The discovery built on the pioneering radiation research of Irène’s parents, Marie and Pierre Curie.
The 1935 prize made Irène the second member of the Curie family to receive a Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Marie had won that award in 1911. Irène had also worked at the Radium Institute in Paris, founded by her mother, and later became a professor at the University of Paris.
A common mix-up is confusing the award year with 1936 or 1937. Those years honored other chemists; Irène and Frédéric’s Nobel recognition belongs specifically to 1935.