As part of the Institut Curie and NCBS scientific meetings this week, NCBS is hosting a series of events to celebrate Marie Curie's life and ongoing legacy.  A traveling exhibition Marie Curie 1867 - 1934, will be on display from August 7 - 25, 2012. This exhibition marks the International Year of Chemistry (2011) and also commemorates the 100th anniversary of Marie Curie's Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1911). The 12 panels of this exhibition trace the remarkable scientific trajectory of Marie Curie.

The inauguration of the exhibition will take place on August 7th at 4.15 pm in the NCBS auditorium, followed by a high tea. All are invited for the opening, and to visit this exhibition which will be displayed at the main reception area of NCBS.

This exhibition has been made available to the NCBS thanks to Musée Curie, Thierry Boisseaux (Attaché for Science and Technology) and Radhika Viswanathan (Scientific Coordinator) at the Consulate General of France in Bangalore, and Anna Spudich (Scholar-in-Residence, NCBS).

In adiition, the Science and Society Programme has also organised a panel discussion on 'Women in Science', examining the status of women in the scientific field. The panelists are: Jyotsna Dhawan, Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine; Rohini Godbole, Centre for High Energy Physics, IISc; Rama Govindarajan, TIFR Centre for Interdisciplinary Sciences, Hyderabad; Shobhana Narasimhan, Theoretical Sciences Unit, JNCASR and Annamma Spudich, Scholar-in-Residence, NCBS. The event details are: 4pm, Thursday, August 9, 2012; NCBS auditorium.

The panelists will speak for about 15 minutes each, after which the discussion will be open to the audience and participants. Although the title is "Women in Science", the discussion is relevant to our male colleagues. We share our work environment together, and so here is a forum to discuss the relevance of questions of gender in science today, what are the challenges involved, is there a "glass ceiling" (see http://web.mit.edu/fnl/women/women.html) as far as advancements for women in their scientific trajectory are concerned, if so, why and so on. A productive discussion would be one that is inclusive of men and women (not men vs women) and will contribute greatly towards creating a more conducive scientific environment.

Marie Curie had an extraordinary life, and you can learn more about her by attending the film "Marie Curie - Beyond the Myth". This 52 minute film is directed by Michel Vuillermet, and is in French with English subtitles, The event details are: 4:30pm,  Wednesday August 8, 2012; NCBS auditorium. The documentary film has been made available to NCBS thanks to Thierry Boisseaux (Attaché for Science and Technology) and Radhika Viswanathan (Scientific Coordinator) at the Consulate General of France in Bangalore, Institut Français and Anna Spudich (Scholar-in-Residence, NCBS).