The University of Glasgow will celebrate the life and works of Lord Kelvin, one of its most famous alumni, with a programme of special events in June.
William Thomson, better known as Lord Kelvin, spent 53 years as the professor of Natural Philosophy at the university, with the significance of his research seeing him become the first British scientist to be given a peerage.
His most famous discovery is the calculation of absolute zero (approximately −273.15 degrees Celsius or −459.67 degrees Fahrenheit), and absolute zero numbers are now measured in Kelvin.
He was knighted by Queen Victoria for his work on the first transatlantic telegraph and died in Largs on 17 December 1907 at the age of 83.
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With four weeks to go until the bicentenary of his birth, 26 June 1824, the University is unveiling a series of public events and activities linked to Kelvin’s life and work which will run during the month of June.
The University’s Mazumdar-Shaw Advanced Research Centre (ARC) will host the Lord Kelvin: Beyond Absolute Zero exhibition as part of the Glasgow Science Festival.
From June 8, visitors will be able to learn more about Kelvin’s work through displays of rarely-seen artifacts from the University’s Special Collections, and learn more about some of his lesser-known achievements, including his solution for the most efficient space-filling shape. Two new Kelvin-inspired works by artist Gregor Harvie, created in collaboration with University researchers, will be on public display for the first time at the event. After the festival concludes on June 16th, the exhibition will return to the ARC for a two-week encore from Tuesday 25th June.
Kelvin’s achievements in precision measurement will be celebrated in the context of the cutting-edge science of today with two public lectures from speakers from the worlds of physics and engineering.
On June 25, Nobel laureate Professor Takaaki Kajita will give a talk on measuring neutrinos and gravitational waves, achievements in high-precision measurements which follow in the footsteps of Lord Kelvin’s own measurement breakthroughs. The lecture is supported by the Institute of Physics and the Institute of Physics Scotland.
On June 26, Dr Daniel Mitchell of the IEEE History Centre will further explore Kelvin’s work in measurements and quantification and how it formed a principal theme uniting many of his achievements in science and engineering. The event will be followed by a reception at the Hunterian Museum, supported by Drygate Brewing Company.
The Hunterian, which has a permanent display dedicated to Kelvin, will be showcasing his life and work through public events and lectures in June. The Hunterian and the University of Glasgow Library are holding a two-part event, which offers a closer look at selected items from both Archives and Special Collections and The Hunterian's scientific instrument collection.
On June 21st, the Hunterian’s curator of scientific and medical history collections, Nicky Reeves, will be hosting an online lunchtime talk about the hundreds of scientific instruments owned, designed or used by Kelvin which are kept in The Hunterian’s collection.
Professor Miles Padgett, Kelvin Chair of Natural Philosophy in the School of Physics & Astronomy, said: "I’m proud to hold the position that celebrates Kelvin, one of the University’s most remarkable inventors and innovators, and whose example continues to inspire scientists and engineers around the world today.
“I think Kelvin himself would be proud of our research at the University of Glasgow today. All across the University, just like Kelvin, we’re working to turn pure science into innovative technologies that impact on the real world, making better medical devices, next-generation communications, new net-zero technologies and more.
“I hope that people will join us on campus throughout June and beyond to celebrate Kelvin by seeing our rich collection of artefacts and artwork inspired by his historic legacy, and hearing about his life and work from expert speakers.”
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