Ida Noddack

Chemist who proposed nuclear fission decades before its discovery, challenging scientific norms.

Ida Noddack (1896–1978) was a German chemist whose bold hypotheses about nuclear fission and element discovery challenged the scientific establishment. Though often overlooked in her lifetime, her ideas later proved foundational to atomic physics.

Noddack studied chemistry at the Technical University of Berlin and worked alongside her future husband, Walter Noddack. In 1925, they co-discovered the element rhenium (atomic number 75), filling a gap in the periodic table. Their search for element 43 (later named technetium) was initially dismissed but confirmed in 1937 by others.

Noddack’s most revolutionary contribution came in 1934. When Enrico Fermi claimed to have created transuranic elements by bombarding uranium with neutrons, Noddack published a paper suggesting that the nucleus might split into smaller fragments—a concept later termed nuclear fission. The scientific community ridiculed her hypothesis, dismissing it as “absurd.” It wasn’t until 1939 that Otto Hahn, Lise Meitner, and Fritz Strassmann validated her theory, yet Noddack received little credit.

Noddack faced gender-based marginalization throughout her career. Despite her achievements, she was never offered a professorship and worked unpaid for years. Her skepticism of mainstream theories, including her controversial critique of Fermi’s work, further isolated her. Nonetheless, her insistence on questioning assumptions paved the way for the atomic age.

Today, Noddack is celebrated as a visionary who dared to think beyond accepted paradigms. The Royal Society of Chemistry posthumously honored her with a commemorative plaque, and element 117 (tennessine) acknowledges her contributions indirectly. Her story highlights the importance of intellectual courage in science.