Meitner

Meitner, Lise (1878–1968), was an Austrian-Swedish physicist who contributed to the discovery and explanation of nuclear fission. Born in Vienna to a Jewish family, she studied at the University of Vienna, earning a PhD in 1906, and then moved to Berlin to work with Otto Hahn at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics. There she conducted research on radioactivity and nuclear processes, collaborating closely with Hahn for many years.

In 1938, after the Nazi regime began persecuting Jews, Meitner fled Germany and settled in Sweden, continuing her research from afar. In Sweden she joined the Royal Institute of Technology and Stockholm University while maintaining collaboration with Hahn. In 1939 she and her nephew Otto Frisch provided the theoretical explanation for Hahn and Strassmann’s experimental results, showing that the uranium nucleus could split into lighter elements, a process termed nuclear fission. Their paper, often cited as the first correct interpretation, also discussed the large energy release and the potential for a chain reaction.

Hahn and Strassmann were awarded the 1944 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of fission; Meitner’s contributions were not recognized by the prize, a omission that has been widely noted in historical assessments. Despite this, Meitner’s work is regarded as foundational to modern nuclear physics, and she is remembered as a pioneer for women in science. She remained in Sweden for the rest of her life, becoming a naturalized citizen, and the field later honored her with awards and prizes, including the Lise Meitner Prize named in her honor.