Scientific Center the Polish Academy of Science

in Vienna

- Chronicle of events -

Seminar course: 
Science in the service of mankind; Grand Polish scholars

Topic: 
Maria Skłodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie - 100 years of radioactivity and its application in the field of medicine

Lectors: 
Dr. Hannelore Sexl, commission for history of mathematics, natural sciences and medicine 
Professor Dr. hab. Włodzimierz Ostrowski, vice-president of the Polish Academy of the sciences 
Dr. Liliana Niesielska 
Dr. Claus Peter Corzilius (lectors )

Number of participants: 120 persons, among them about 50 from Austria

   The participants of the seminar came from the Polish Academy of the sciences, the Viennese Polonia 
Teenagers from several Viennese highschools also participated in the seminar..

Picture 3. shows the participants of the extremely well attended seminar evening in the seminar hall - outbuilding of the center of the Polish Academy of Sciences. In the first row (from left): The president of the club of the Polish intellectual ones in Austria Mrs. Jadwiga Hafner, the vice-president of the Polish academy of the sciences, Professor Włodzimierz Ostrowski, the pianist of the evening Elżbieta Wiedner Zając as well as the main lector of the evening Dr. Hannelore Sexl)

The seminar started with short welcome addresses of the director of the Viennese of Center of the Polish Academy 
of the Sciences, Professor Marian Herman, the Secretary-General of the Austrian Academy of the Sciences, 
Professor Herbert Mang, as well as the vice-president of the Polish academy of the sciences, Professor Włodzimierz Ostrowski.

   The scientific part of evening began with the outstanding presentation of Mrs. Dr. Sexl, - in order to fulfill this task 
she presented numerous transparencies about the history of the scientific discoveries of Marie and Pierre Curie 
in the fields of  radioactivity and its application in  medicine .

   Additionally, the private correspondence of the Pierre and Marie Curie was presented by two actors. 
The letters written by Maria  Sklodowska-Curie were read by Dr. Liliana Niesielska, while the letters written 
by Pierre Curie were read by Mr. Claus Peter Corzilius.  

   Prof dr. hab Wlodzimierz Ostrowski, vice-president of the Polish academy of the sciences, concluded the seminar. 
He addressed his speech to the character of Maria Sklodowska-Curie, her devotion to science commitment 
without any self-interest as a characteristic trait of this grand Polish scholar and to the fact, 
that her scientific work was awarded twice with the Nobel Prize (the first time for physics, the second time for chemistry).

The pictures 4, 5 i 6 show the director of the center of the Polish Academy of the Sciences, 
Professor Marian M. HERMAN, the Secretary-General of the Austrian Academy of the Sciences, 
Professor Herbert Mang, as well as the vice-president of the Polish Academy of the Sciences, 
Professor Włodzimierz Ostrowski (beside him the translator Dr. Liliana Niesielska), during their welcome adresses

The Pic. 7 and 8: 
Liliana Niesielska and Claus Peter Corzilius, 
both before of during their  reading

Pic. 9.  Professor Ostrowski during his  lecture  (with Dr. Liliana Niesielska.

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