Alan Alda Shares 'Hero' Marie Curie With World Science Festival
Alan Alda loves science, and the World Science Festival loves Alan Alda. The festival kicked off its fourth annual iteration with a star-studded reading of Alda’s new play about the life of scientist Marie Curie.
In an event that blurred the line between science and the stage, Maggie Gyllenhaal played famed chemist and physicist in “Radiance: The Passion of Marie Curie.” She was joined on stage by Liev Schreiber, Allison Janney and Mireille Enos , among other Broadway heavyweights.
“Marie Curie is my hero,” Alda told the audience. “And I hope that by the end of tonight, she might be the same for you.”
The play is very much a work in progress. Part memory play and part unexpected bedroom drama, the piece tied Curie’s passion for the nascent science of nuclear radiation with her devotion to her husband, Pierre Curie. The latter half of the play explored the public fallout in France after Curie’s affair with her fellow scientist and mathematician Paul Langevin.
The reading was breathless and often stalled, with flubbed lines and misspoken names dotting the two hour-plus reading. But the cast of actors seemed to enjoy themselves. Gyllenhaal and Schreiber shared a laugh after a clumsy on-stage kiss, and Janney was passionate and fiery in the role of Jeanne, Langevin’ s spurned wife.
Festival co-founder Dr. Brian Greene took a casual approach in his opening remarks, ambling around the stage and speaking in sweeping and often theatrical tones.
“There’s a wealth of confusion in our scientific world,” Greene said. “In every new generation of scientists, there’s a turning point.”
For the generation of Pierre and Marie Curie, radioactivity was that scientific turning point that led to a new school of thought. And as Greene and his four-day festival of scientists, celebrities and artists explore unusual and uncommon ideas, the newest breakthrough may be a wider cultural understanding of science.
Or at least that’s what Greene, Alda and the assembled company tried to convey in the opening Wednesday night.
The World Science Festival continues throughout New York City until June 5. Many events are free. For a listing of events and locations, see the festival’s website .
Scientists Marie Curie - News
The festival kicked off its fourth annual iteration with a star-studded reading of Alda's new play about the life of scientist Marie Curie. In an event that blurred the line between science and the stage, Maggie Gyllenhaal played famed chemist and
Walker worked with MIT's Arup Chakraborty, and Vincent Dahirel, from the Université Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris, to find out exactly which areas those were. And their methodology was drawn not from the world of science, but finance.
June 1, 2011: Alan Alda, the long-time host of the PBS show "Scientific American Frontiers," discusses the debut of his play about the life of Marie Curie at the 2011 World Science Festival. Most places one would look for a scientist
(1) Laboratoire de physique nucléaire et de hautes énergies (CNRS / Université Pierre et Marie Curie / Université Paris Diderot-Paris 7), Institut de physique nucléaire de Lyon (CNRS / Université Lyon 1), Laboratoire Leprince-Ringuet (CNRS / École
The project is part of the International Year of Chemistry 2011, established by the UN to mark the 100th anniversary of Marie Curie's winning the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1911. The Royal Society of Chemistry said the data gathered would be of
xkcd: Marie Curie
Woman: My teacher always told me that if I applied myself, I could become the next Marie Curie. Zombie Marie Curie: You know, I wish they'd get over me. Woman: Zombie Marie Curie! Zombie Marie Curie: Not that I don't deserve it. These two Nobels ain't decorative. But I make a sorry role model if girls just see me over and over as the one token lady scientist. Zombie Marie Curie: Lise Meitner figured out that nuclear fission was happening, while her colleague Otto was staring blankly at their data in confusion, and proved Enrico Fermi wrong in the process. Enrico and Otto both got Nobel Prizes. Lise got a National Women's Press Club award. Zombie Marie Curie: They finally named an element after her, but not until 60 years later. Zombie Marie Curie: Emmy Noether fought past her Victorian-era finishing-school upbringing, pursued mathematics by auditing classes, and, after finally getting a Ph.D, was permitted to teach only as an unpaid lecturer (often under male colleagues' names). Woman: Was she as good as them? Zombie Marie Curie: She revolutionized abstract algebra, filled gaps in relativity, and found what some call the most beautiful, deepest result in theoretical physics. Woman: Oh. Zombie Marie Curie: But you don't become great by trying to be great. You become great by wanting to do something, and then doing it so hard that you become great in the process. Zombie Marie Curie: So don't try to be the next me, Noether, or Meitner. Just remember that if you want to do this stuff, you're not alone. Woman: Thanks. Zombie Marie Curie: Also, avoid radium. Turns out it kills you. Woman: I'll try. {{Title text: Although not permanently.
Marie Curie: Scientist Who Made Glowing Discoveries (Getting to Know the World's Greatest Inventors and Scientists): 
Marie Curie: Scientist Who Made Glowing Discoveries (Getting to Know the World's Greatest Inventors and Scientists): 
Marie Curie: A Biography: Marie Curie (1867-1934) was one of the most important woman scientists in history, and... 
shortfilm/powerpoint/other resource on famous female scientists (not just marie curie (great though she was!)
Marie Curie: And the Science of Radioactivity (Oxford Scientists): Scientists Marie Curie - Bookshelf
Marie Curie, Young Scientist
Highlights the life and accomplishments of the world-renowned scientist who was a pioneer in the field of radioactivity, won the Noble Prize twice, and became ...Marie Curie, Nobel Prize Winning Scientist
Marie Curie was one of the first women scientists to become famous all over the world.Marie Curie, Scientist
Traces the life and work of the Polish-born scientist whose study of radioactivity lead to her receiving two Nobel Prizes.Marie Curie, Brave Scientist
Marie Curie, Pioneering Physicist
When the war was over in 1918, she brought the radium back to Paris. Marie Curie is one of the most significant scientists of all ...Casual Posts Directory
Marie Curie - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pierre and Marie Curie in their Paris laboratory, before 1907 ... As one of the most famous female scientists to date, Marie Curie has been an icon in the scientific world and ...
Marie Curie - Famous Woman Scientist Marie Curie
A profile of Marie Curie, one of the most important and famous woman scientists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She played a key role in the discovery of ...
Marie Curie - The Great Women Scientists Website
The Great Scientists web site for Marie Curie - twice nobel prize winner and discoverer of radium and polonium.
Marie Curie, Remarkable Scientist
Marie Curie, Remarkable Scientist, is a Women of Courage profile, produced by the St. Lawrence County, NY Branch of the American Association of University Women.
Marie Curie Fellowship Association
The alumni association for young scientists who received a European Community Marie Curie Fellowship.
