Cavendish Professor of Physics
Encyclopedia
The Cavendish Professorship is one of the senior Professorships in Physics
at Cambridge University
. It was founded by grace of 9 February 1871 alongside the famous Cavendish Laboratory
which was completed three years later. The endowment was granted by William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire
, in honour of his relative, Henry Cavendish
.
In 1971 it was officially renamed from the "Cavendish Professorship of Experimental Physics" to the "Cavendish Professorship of Physics".
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
at Cambridge University
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
. It was founded by grace of 9 February 1871 alongside the famous Cavendish Laboratory
Cavendish Laboratory
The Cavendish Laboratory is the Department of Physics at the University of Cambridge, and is part of the university's School of Physical Sciences. It was opened in 1874 as a teaching laboratory....
which was completed three years later. The endowment was granted by William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire
William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire
William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire KG, PC , styled as Lord Cavendish of Keighley between 1831 and 1834 and known as The Earl of Burlington between 1834 and 1858, was a British landowner, benefactor and politician.-Background and education:Cavendish was the son of William Cavendish, eldest...
, in honour of his relative, Henry Cavendish
Henry Cavendish
Henry Cavendish FRS was a British scientist noted for his discovery of hydrogen or what he called "inflammable air". He described the density of inflammable air, which formed water on combustion, in a 1766 paper "On Factitious Airs". Antoine Lavoisier later reproduced Cavendish's experiment and...
.
In 1971 it was officially renamed from the "Cavendish Professorship of Experimental Physics" to the "Cavendish Professorship of Physics".
Cavendish Professors
- James Clerk MaxwellJames Clerk MaxwellJames Clerk Maxwell of Glenlair was a Scottish physicist and mathematician. His most prominent achievement was formulating classical electromagnetic theory. This united all previously unrelated observations, experiments and equations of electricity, magnetism and optics into a consistent theory...
(1871 – 1879) - Lord Rayleigh (1879 – 1884)
- J. J. ThomsonJ. J. ThomsonSir Joseph John "J. J." Thomson, OM, FRS was a British physicist and Nobel laureate. He is credited for the discovery of the electron and of isotopes, and the invention of the mass spectrometer...
(1884 – 1919) - Lord Rutherford (1919 – 1937)
- William Lawrence BraggWilliam Lawrence BraggSir William Lawrence Bragg CH OBE MC FRS was an Australian-born British physicist and X-ray crystallographer, discoverer of the Bragg law of X-ray diffraction, which is basic for the determination of crystal structure. He was joint winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1915. He was knighted...
(1938 – 1953) - Nevill Mott (1954 – 1971)
- Brian PippardBrian PippardSir Alfred Brian Pippard, ScD, FRS , was a British physicist. He was Cavendish Professor of Physics from 1971 until 1984 and an Honorary Fellow of Clare Hall, University of Cambridge, of which he was the first President...
(1971 – 1984) - Sam EdwardsSam Edwards (physicist)Sir Samuel Frederick Edwards FLSW FRS is a British physicist.-Early life and studies:Sir Samuel was born on 1 February 1928 in Swansea, the son of Richard and Mary Jane Edwards....
(1984 – 1995) - Richard FriendRichard FriendSir Richard Henry Friend FRS is Cavendish Professor at the University of Cambridge and Tan Chin Tuan Centennial Professor at the National University of Singapore. He is a fellow of St John's College...
(1995 – )
External links, resources, and references
- The Cavendish Professorship of Physics, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Department of Physics.
- Sir Richard Friend, Cavendish Professor — Freeview tutorial and interview with Richard Friend by the Vega Science Trust