Chemical landmark plaque to honour our founder

On 2 July Robert Parker presented the University of Strathclyde with a chemical landmark plaque, honouring the life and work of our founding president Thomas Graham.

Born in Glasgow, Thomas Graham was Professor of Chemistry at what was then Anderson’s University. His most famous contributions to science include Graham’s Law of Diffusion and his pioneering work on dialysis. After having made a name for himself in Scotland, he moved south, and in 1841 founded the Chemical Society of London. As one of our precursor societies, it later merged with three other societies to become the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Nobel Prize winner unveils plaque

The plaque will be mounted on the front of the university’s Thomas Graham Building, which is home to the chemistry department. The university marked the presentation of the plaque with a special lecture by Chemistry Nobel Prize winner Professor Roald Hoffmann of Cornell University. Hoffmann was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the university earlier that day and, as part of the ceremony, presented his lecture ‘All the ways to have a bond’. An audience of staff and students from the university were also able to catch a glimpse into the life and work of Thomas Graham through a presentation by Professor Colin Suckling.

Our chief executive Robert Parker invited Hoffmann to unveil the blue plaque at a ceremony hosted by Professor Duncan Graham, Head of Research at the Department of Pure & Applied Chemistry.

The plaque is one of up to four Chemical Landmark plaques we award each year to mark historical developments in the chemical sciences and recognise sites where significant chemical discoveries or research took place.