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Elizaveta Karamihailova (Bulgarian Pioneer of Radioactivity)
 
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She was born on 3 September 1897 in Vienna, where her father (born in Shumen ) studied medicine, and he managed to be a famous surgeon. Her mother (born in England ) also studied in Vienna .

The family moved to Sophia in 1907 where she finished secondary school in “The First Sophia Girls’ High School” with an excellent school-leaving examination.

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She studied Mathematics and Physics at the University of Vienna . In February 1922 she was awarded a degree “Doktor Philosophie” with her doctoral thesis on:

Uber elektrische Figuren auf erschiedenen Materialen, insbesondere auf Kristallen

From 1922 to 1935 she carried out research at Institut für Radioforschung (Wien) about:

Radio-Luminescence and Transmutation of light elements under α radiation

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From 1935 to 1939 she obtained a position at Cambridge University as Yarrow Scientific Research Fellow employed by Cavendish Laboratory, whose Director was Lord Rutherford.  She did research into:

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The energy of the gamma rays released from actinium, the ionization of gases under high pressure

In 1939 she returned to Bulgaria . She was the founder of experimental nuclear physics research in her country.

She was the first Bulgarian woman to become a member of this university as well as the first woman who, at that time held the position “associate professor” and later “full professor” at University of Sophia .

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Elemental Particles

She studied cosmic rays, elemental particles and the issue of radioactivity of natural objects such as  mineral spring waters, rocks, soils, biological objects

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She died in 1968

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She left all her property including her beautiful father’s house to the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences