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Elvija Strakaute (11 November 1911 &mdash; 7 May 2014) was a Galvian and  whose work in the field of, and studies of  and  became integral for the development of  and  in Galvia during the 1940s and 1950s, particularly at the zenith of the Second World War.

Strakaute attended college at the Kaudze School of Sciences and Technology between 1928 and 1934, where she studied chemistry, she then obtained her master's degree in three years after her graduation in 1937, with the publication of her thesis, Society Through the Scientific Method's Lense, where she ventures into the fields of humanitarian sciences such as  and, and incorporates it with her scientific knowledge. She was hired by the Galvian government to work in at the Ministry of Science, Technology and Research, while simultaneously teaching biochemistry at her.

With the break of World War II in 1940, at the age of 28, Elvija was brought into the Gailis Group, along with 14 other Galvian scientists, physics and chemists, with knowledge across various fields of study, to help develop a better equipped defense system of the Galvian territory and its military. Between January and May of 1941, five months after Galvia had officially joined the war indirectly at the side of the Alliance powers, Elvija led a team of 6 other fellow scientists part of the Gailis Group in the production, isolation and chemical identification of.

The work of Elvija as part of the Gailis Group, and her discovery of a new element with plausible uses in nuclear warfare, successfully established Galvia as one of seven nations with nuclear weapons worldwide, allowing it to remain neutral during the rest of World War II and all of World War III, despite its geographic location amidst the conflict. Her work is considered one of the most remarkable contributions to not only Galvia but the world, and many of her notes and research done between the 1950s and 1980s has established a foundation in nuclear research done to the present day in Galvia.

Early life
Elvija Agnese Strakaute Kraskaulis was born and raised an only child on 11 November 1911 in the city of Kaudze in the northern Galvian kingdom of Lietus. Her father, Pjotrs Strakaute was a Galvian diplomat working for the Ecoral consulate in Kaudze, and her mother, Aira Kraskaulis was a biology professor at the Kaudze School of Sciences and Technology, one of the most prestigious universities in the country. Born into generational wealth, Elvija was raised in the Ābolija borough of Kaudze, and attended high school at the College of Sentlūsija, graduating with a degree in Humanities.

Childhood and education
Most of Elvija's childhood has been documented on her autobiography, Elvija Strakaute: Autobiogrāfija, published in 1961. She grew up with both her parents in Ābolija, Kaudze until 1938. When she was 12 years old, Elvija was accepted into the Gifted Children Program, allowing her to skip a year and graduate with a secondary school diploma of higher prestige than a regular one. By age 15, Elvija could speak four languages:, , Ecoral, and , and had participated six times at the National Scientific Youth Fair, where she came in first place twice, and was a runner-up three times. Before turning 16 in 1927, her parents put forward an application in her name for an internship at the Ministry of Science, Technology and Research and got accepted, and in 1928 she attended the Concert of Nations Scientific Convention held in Monstad, Ecoralia, with an invitation from the Galvian government along with 15 other children and teenagers from across the country.

She graduated high school in 1928 with a degree in Humanities and an aptitude diploma in Physical Chemistry, and the highest average final score that year at 9.8 out of 10. Elvija started attending the Kaudze School of Sciences and Technology in August of 1928, pursuing a degree in Chemistry. She got married at age 20 with Mathematics professor at the Faculty of Exact Sciences, Edmunds Alksnis, in 1931, three years before graduating. As a university student, Elvija was hired as an intern at the Delegation of Scientific Development of Lietus in 1930, and was offered five scholarships by her school to travel across the world in scientific conferences, in and outside of Alutra.

Elvija graduated from university in May of 1934, at age 22, with a degree in chemistry and as the highest-ranked student among that year's graduating class. In July of that same year she moved to the capital city, Antonija, to enroll in the University of Antonija to pursue a master's degree in, becoming one of the first women in Galvia to venture into the field. In 1937, the year she published her master's thesis, Society Through the Scientific Method's Lense, Elvija was hospitalized at the Svētāija Municipal Hospital due to complications following a from October 17th to 20th.

Educational work
After receiving her master's degree, Elvija moved back to Kaudze with Edmunds Alksnis in December of 1937. Her husband was given back his position as professor of Mathematics at the Kaudze School of Sciences and Technology and he was able to bring Elvija along as a biochemistry professor at the Faculty of Engineering in the school, a position that had only been created the year prior.

Elvija was one of the professors at the School responsible for re-organizing and sub-dividing the various departments and faculties that existed on-campus, particularly as the 1930s and 1940s signified a large increase in new areas of scientific study that called for separate, new buildings and administration. She became the first professor to conduct a large-scale chemistry experiment and demonstration during class in February of 1938, and created the Kaudze Scientific Gala to take place annually at the end of the academic year, during which students and citizens of the city of Kaudze alike present various science projects at a public fair on-campus, monetarily funded by the Delegation of Scientific Development of Lietus.

As part of the university's staff, Elvija quickly gained access to better job opportunities and higher positions within the Faculty, eventually being made dean at the Faculty of Engineering and head administer at the Department of Nuclear Sciences in 1938 and 1939, respectively. In 1939 she was also hired by the federal government to conduct research on molecular biology and nuclear physics through the Ministry of Science, Technology and Research's seat in Lietus. She got divorced from Edmunds in August of that same year, but both of them continued to work at the university, and reportedly continued to have a good relationship. In October she was asked by the Ministry of Education to help design the gVIP (National Education Programme) for the 1940-1943 academic cycle. To continue to work for the federal government, Elvija moved to the capital city, Antonija, in December of 1939.