Lise Meitner, the discoverer of nuclear fission, who was overlooked for its Nobel Prize. Post-mortem the element Meitnerium (Z=109) was named after her.

Lise Meitner has been my inspiration since I learned about her in high school. Even though the vast majority of my colleagues are still male, a lot has changed in our field since she started her carreer. It is unthinkable now that women would be overlooked for the Chemistry or Physics Nobel Prizes or have to work in the basement of a research institute, and this was not even 100 years ago. Lise Meitner was a pioneer, and she opened the path for women in science.