Manchester plaque to honour Rutherford, the atom pioneer

The genius who revealed to the world the structure of the atom is honoured by the Royal Society of Chemistry in Manchester today.

An RSC Chemical Landmark Award will honour Ernest Rutherford, the New Zealand-born Nobel Laureate in chemistry and pioneer in nuclear physics. 

The award is to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Rutherford's discovery of the atomic nucleus and is part of International Year of Chemistry celebrations.

The presentation will take place as part of the commemorative opening session of the Rutherford Centennial Conference at University of Manchester, where Rutherford undertook much of his research.

The session will open at 8.30am with a welcome from Professor Rod Coombs, Deputy President and Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of Manchester, followed by a formal opening by His Excellency Mr Derek Leask, High Commissioner for New Zealand and Ambassador to Ireland and Nigeria at 8.35am. 

The Landmark plaque will be presented at 8.45am, after which there will be two talks entitled 'Rutherford, radioactivity and the origins of nuclear physics' and 'Perspectives on the first century of nuclear physics'. 

Professor Sean Freeman, of the Nuclear Physics Research Group School at the University of Manchester said today: "It is a real pleasure for the Royal Society of Chemistry to be involved in the celebrations of the centenary of Rutherford's discovery of the atomic nucleus. 

"His genius uncovered the structure of the atom and effectively initiated the whole area of nuclear physics. It is particularly nice for the RSC to join us in the opening ceremony of the conference as Rutherford won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry 'for his investigations into the disintegration of the elements and the chemistry of radioactive substances'. 

"The University is particularly proud to receive a Chemical Landmark plaque to mark this anniversary.  The presentation will be part of the Commemorative Opening Session of the Rutherford Centennial Conference on Nuclear Physics."

The conference will mark one hundred years of the atomic nucleus by addressing the wide range of exciting topics characterising modern nuclear physics. These include the latest results from heavy-ion collisions at the LHC at CERN, developments in the understanding of nuclear reactions in stars and supernovae, and novel results in the structure and decay of atomic nuclei and their components.

Scientists from over 35 countries from across the world will gather for the conference.

The genius who revealed to the world the structure of the atom will be honoured by the Royal Society of Chemistry in Manchester on Monday.

An RSC Chemical Landmark Award will honour Ernest Rutherford, the New Zealand-born Nobel Laureate in Chemistry and pioneer in nuclear physics. 

The award is to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Rutherford's discovery of the atomic nucleus and is part of International Year of Chemistry celebrations.

The presentation will take place as part of the commemorative opening session of the Rutherford Centennial Conference at University of Manchester, where Rutherford undertook much of his research.

The session will open at 8.30am with a welcome from Professor Rod Coombs, Deputy President and Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of Manchester, followed by a formal opening by His Excellency Mr Derek Leask, High Commissioner for New Zealand and Ambassador to Ireland and Nigeria at 8.35am. 

The Landmark plaque will be presented at 8.45am, after which there will be two talks entitled 'Rutherford, radioactivity and the origins of nuclear physics' and 'Perspectives on the first century of nuclear physics'. 

Professor Sean Freeman, of the Nuclear Physics Research Group School at the University of Manchester said today: "It is a real pleasure for the Royal Society of Chemistry to be involved in the celebrations of the centenary of Rutherford's discovery of the atomic nucleus. 

"His genius uncovered the structure of the atom and effectively initiated the whole area of nuclear physics. It is particularly nice for the RSC to join us in the opening ceremony of the conference as Rutherford won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry 'for his investigations into the disintegration of the elements and the chemistry of radioactive substances'. 

"The University is particularly proud to receive a Chemical Landmark plaque to mark this anniversary.  The presentation will be part of the Commemorative Opening Session of the Rutherford Centennial Conference on Nuclear Physics."

The conference will mark one hundred years of the atomic nucleus by addressing the wide range of exciting topics characterising modern nuclear physics. These include the latest results from heavy-ion collisions at the LHC at CERN, developments in the understanding of nuclear reactions in stars and supernovae, and novel results in the structure and decay of atomic nuclei and their components.

Scientists from over 35 countries from across the world will gather for the conference.