Ellen Gleditsch

Starting her career as an assistant to Marie Curie, she became a pioneer in radiochemistry, establishing the half-life of radium and helping demonstrate the existence of isotopes.

[7] In 1905 with the support of her mentor Eyvind Bødtker, she passed the university entrance exam, but chose to study in Paris.

[9] At the Curie Institute, Gleditsch performed a technique called fractional crystallisations, which purified radium.

In 1911, she received a "Licenciée en sciences degree" from the Sorbonne and was awarded a teaching post at University of Oslo where she worked with Margot Dorenfeldt.

After working one year, Gleditsch won the first scholarship ever given to a woman from the American-Scandinavian Association to study in the United States, but was turned down by both of the schools at which she applied.

One of the scientists who had originally turned her away from Yale, co-authored two articles with her and in June 1914, Smith College awarded her an honorary doctorate for her work.

[12] In 1929, she made a trip to the United States traveling from New York to California with the intention of promoting scholarships for women.