Ada Hitchins Mrs. Stephens

Ada Florence Remfry Hitchins49 was the principal research student of Frederick Soddy. It was her toil, isolating lead samples from uranium ores, which contributed to the discovery of 

At the time, Soddy was seeking evidence that lead from thorium ores had different atomic weights from normal lead. When Soddy announced the discovery of a sample of lead of atomic mass 207.74, he acknowledged the contribution of Hitchins for the separation and analysis work. Thus, Hitchins precise and accurate measurements on the atomic masses of lead from different sources were among the first evidence for the existence of isotopes.51 In addition, Hitchins took over the research on protactinium from Cranston when the latter was drafted for the First World War. 

In 1916, Hitchins herself was drafted to work in the Admiralty Steel Analysis Laboratories.54 When the former male occupants of the analytical laboratories returned upon the end of hostilities, Hitchins lost her position. However, the wartime analytical experience enabled her to find employment as a chemist with a Sheffield steel works until Soddy, then at Oxford, obtained funding to rehire her.55 

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