University study and Berlin laboratories
Meitner entered Vienna University in 1901 after qualifying for further study. Following her doctorate she went to Berlin, attended Planck’s lectures and worked with Hahn. Restrictions on women initially confined her research to a former workshop separated from teaching rooms, before she obtained formal scientific posts.
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Research and exile
The team moved to the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Chemistry in 1913, and Meitner established a radiophysics department in 1918. The Nazis withdrew her university teaching rights in 1933 because of her Jewish family background. After Austria’s annexation increased the danger, she escaped through the Netherlands to Sweden in 1938.
Interpreting uranium fission
In exile Meitner continued corresponding with Hahn. After Hahn and Strassmann reported barium in irradiated uranium in December 1938, she and Frisch explained early in 1939 how a heavy nucleus could split and release substantial energy. The subsequent Nobel chemistry prize went to Hahn alone.