Mărăcineanu graduated with a physical and chemical science degree in 1910, and began her career as a teacher at the Central School for Girls in Bucharest. During this time, she earned a scholarship from the Romanian Ministry of Science and later decided to pursue graduate research at the Radium Institute in Paris.

Notably, at that time, the institute was becoming a centre for the study of radioactivity worldwide under the direction of physicist Marie Curie. Maracineanu began working on her PhD thesis on polonium — the same element which was discovered by Curie.

During her research on the half-life of polonium, Mărăcineanu noticed that the half-life seemed dependent on the type of metal it was placed on. This got her thinking if the alpha rays from the polonium had transferred some atoms of the metal into radioactive isotopes. Her research led to what is most likely the first example of artificial radioactivity.

To complete her PhD in physics, Mărăcineanu got into the Sorbonne University in Paris. After working for four years at the Astronomical Observatory in Meudon, she returned to Romania and founded her homeland’s first laboratory for the study of radioactivity.

Mărăcineanu dedicated her most of her time researching on artificial rain, which included a trip to Algeria to test her results. She also studied the link between earthquakes and rainfall, becoming the first to report that there is significant increase of radioactivity in the epicenter leading up to an earthquake.

Mărăcineanu’s work was recognized by the Academy of Sciences of Romania in 1936 where she was elected to serve as a Director of research, but she never received global recognition for the discovery.

The Google doodle on June 18 honoured Stefania Maracineanu, a Romanian physicist, on her 140^th birth anniversary. She was one of the pioneering women in the discovery and research of radioactivity.

According to Google, Stefania Maracineanu graduated with a physical and chemical science degree in 1910 and started her career as a teacher at the Central School for Girls in Bucharest. She earned a scholarship from the Romanian Ministry of Science while being there. Moreover, she decided to pursue graduate research at the Radium Institute in Paris.

As per a blog on Google, The Radium Institute was quickly becoming a worldwide centre for the study of radioactivity under the direction of physicist Marie Curie. Stefania began working on her PhD thesis on polonium, an element that Curie discovered.

Today’s #GoogleDoodle celebrates Ștefania Mărăcineanu’s 140th birthday. The Romanian physicist was one of the pioneering women in the discovery of artificial radioactivity.

Learn more about her inspiring story here —> https://t.co/j3aE1v5pGf pic.twitter.com/MZ72AXhSM9

— Google Doodles (@GoogleDoodles) June 18, 2022

During her research on the half-life of polonium, Maracineanu noticed that the half-life seemed dependent on the type of metal it was placed on. This in turn got her wondering if the alpha rays from the polonium had transferred some atoms of the metal into radioactive isotopes.

Notably, her research led to what is most likely the first example of artificial radioactivity. She even enrolled at Sorbonne University in Paris to finish her PhD in physics, which she earned in just two years!

Maracineanu dedicated her time to researching artificial rain, which included a trip to Algeria to test her results. She also studied the link between earthquakes and rainfall, becoming the first to report that there was a significant increase of radioactivity in the epicenter leading up to an earthquake.

Maracineanu’s work was recognized by the Academy of Sciences of Romania in 1936, where she was elected to serve as the Director of research, but she never received global recognition for the discovery