Before his death in 1937, Ernest Rutherford discovered the rate of radioactive decay of
atoms. In 1911 he proposed the nuclear structure of the atom, and in 1919 he
successfully split the nucleus of an atom. Rutherford also achieved success when
advising his students to follow his research method in nuclear physics. As a faculty
advisor to research students, Rutherford advised courses, research topics, and
experimental research. To determine whether Rutherford made an impact on his
students, this study focused on the relationship between Rutherford and 24 researchers
and students at McGill University, the University of Manchester, and Cambridge
University. Rutherford had a significant impact through his advising efforts at each
institution and contributed to the success of his students. This study may not include a
complete list of students at each institution because of a lack of records at each
institution. Instead, this study focused on the students included in the Rutherford
biographies.
The study included a content analysis on Rutherford biographies and memoirs
from students under RutherfordÂs direct influence at McGill University, the University of
Manchester, and Cambridge University. Historical information from J.L. Heilbron,
David Wilson, and J.G. Crowther supplied the timeline at each institution where Rutherford conducted research. The results show an overwhelming contribution by
RutherfordÂs leadership in the direction of his students. Rutherford made a significant
impact in the research direction of all his students examined in this study, including eight
research students under Rutherford that were later honored with a Nobel Prize.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/3754 |
| Date | 16 August 2006 |
| Creators | Armstrong, Andrew A. |
| Contributors | Walraven, Edward L. |
| Publisher | Texas A&M University |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Thesis, text |
| Format | 400038 bytes, electronic, application/pdf, born digital |
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