A Complete List of Famous Welsh Scientists
LKing17471
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Dewi Williams
;-)))))))
Dewi
N Wales
Lyn David Thomas
(LKing17471) writes:
>
Well immediately I can think of Dr Phill Williams (of Plaid Cymru fame)
who did some important work on Radio Astronomy. There are plenty of
others. Name me some famous American ones?
--
__
*Lyn David Thomas* \/ *Witty Sig on holiday - again*
Russ Evans
In article <853299...@stuffing.demon.co.uk>, Lyn David Thomas writes:
> Well immediately I can think of Dr Phill Williams (of Plaid Cymru fame)
> who did some important work on Radio Astronomy.
Is Phil really a figure in Plaid? That would explain one or two of the
points of disagreement we've had! And I thought his principal claim to
non-scientific fame was his saxophone playing ...
By the way, he's Professor Phil Williams these days.
Russ
LKing17471
Physiology or Medicine
1. Stanley Cohen - Growth Factors (1986)
2. Susumu Tonegawa - Antibody Diversity (1987)
3. Gertrude Elion - Pharmacology (1988)
4. George Hitchings - Pharmacology (1988)
5. Michael Bishop - Retroviral Oncogenes (1989)
6. Harold Varmus - Retroviral Oncogenes (1989)
7. Joseph Murray - Transplantation (1990)
8. Donnall Thomas - Transplantation (1990)
9. Edmond Fischer - Metabolism (1992)
10. Edwin Krebs - Metabolism (1992)
11. Phillip Sharp - RNA splicing (1993)
12. Alfred Gilbert - G-proteins (1994)
13. Martin Rodbell - G-proteins (1994)
Chemistry
1. Dudley Herschbach - Dynamics (1986)
2. Yuan T. Lee - Dynamics (1986)
3. Donald Cram - Chemical Selectivity (1987)
4. Charles Pederson - Chemical Selectivity (1987)
5. Johann Deisenhofer - Photosynthesis (1988)
6. Sidney Altman - Catalytic RNA (1989)
7. Thomas Cech - Catalytic RNA (1989)
8. Elias Coret - Chemical Synthesis (1990)
9. Rudolph Marcus - Electron Transfer (1992)
10. Kary Mullis - PCR (1993)
11. Geoger Olah - Hydrocarbon Research (1994)
Physics
1. Leon Lederman - Doublet Structure of Leptons (1988)
2. Melvin Schwartz - Doublet Structure of Leptons (1988)
3. Norman Ramsey - Separated Oscillatory Fields (1989)
4. Hans Dehmelt - Ion Trap Technique (1989)
5. Jerome Friedman - Quarks (1990)
6. Henry Kendall - Quarks (1990)
7. Joseph Taylor - Binary Pulsars (1993)
8. Russel Hulse - Binary Pulsars (1993)
9. Clifford Schull - Neutron Beams (1994)
Lyn David Thomas
> American Science Nobel Laureates, 1986-1994, for a start:
Names of lots and lots of good people cut.
Now compare the population of the USA with that of Wales.
Neil Shadrach
<lking...@aol.com> wrote
>American Science Nobel Laureates, 1986-1994, for a start:
available?
2. Brilliant maybe but "famous" I think not. If you disagree try the
list on a selection of people off the street.
--
Neil Shadrach
LKing17471
Complete List of Famous Welsh Scientists". The point that the population
of the United States is >100 that of Wales is well taken. Furthermore, a
considerable proportion of notable scientists in the US are first
generation immigrants. As a Welshman myself (and a scientist) I would be
genuinely interested to learn of noted Welsh scientists. I can start this
list rolling with the following name:
1. Professor Mike Bevan. University of Washington, Seattle. - Important
contributions to the understanding of the processes of positive and
negative selection of thymic T lymphocytes. (from Caerphilly)
Rhys Williams
>In article <853299...@stuffing.demon.co.uk>, Lyn David Thomas writes:
>> Well immediately I can think of Dr Phill Williams (of Plaid Cymru fame)
>> who did some important work on Radio Astronomy.
>Is Phil really a figure in Plaid? That would explain one or two of the
>points of disagreement we've had! And I thought his principal claim to
>non-scientific fame was his saxophone playing ...
He certainly is active in Plaid Cymru, or at least he was when
he was our Quantum Mechanics lecturer at Aber. And I can vouch for his
sax playing as well. The physics Christmas party of 1990 or '91 was
particularly memorable, not because of his secret musical ability, nor
his floppy jazz-beatnik hat that he wore for the performance, but for
Phil spontaneously bursting into song after a couple of instrumental
verses... I suppose you had to be there!
Rhys
A Brignall
who was professor of physics at Bangor for many years? I seem to remember hearing
he had done some valuable work, something to do with radiation maybe? Any of his
ex-students out there who could confirm or refute?
Ann
Danny Thomas
Research into scrum formation and genetics :-)
Danny Thomas
do...@dial.pipex.com
dth...@cix.compulink.co.uk
100340,3473 Compuserve
Dewi Lewis
: > As a Welshman myself (and a scientist) I would be
: > genuinely interested to learn of noted Welsh scientists.
: > I can start this list rolling with the following name:
: I did some research. Couldn't find any books about
: Welsh scientists (which would have been mainly about
: historical figures anyway),
I find that whenever I go on conference I find even more Welsh scientist.
Fame is not a thing we do really is it!
Top of my head stuff:
Sir John Meurig Thomas
catalysis/surf sci/zeolites/solid state chem. appoaching 1000papers
in the top10 likely to get the Nobel next time round. Oh and he's my boss!
Me (ahem)
Wyn Roberts
surf sci at Cardiff. author of bog standard catlaysis books.
loads more but you would probably say "they're not famous". But then
like I said "fame" is not something scientist do really is it!
But I think for the Cymdeithas Wyddonol to do a WhoWho would be a good idea.
Dewi
--
Dewi Lewis | Royal Institution of GB | email: de...@ri.ac.uk
| 21 Albemarle St. | WWW: http://www.ri.ac.uk/DFRL
| London W1X 4BS | phone: 0171 409 2992
KARL JOHN SEDGEMORE
Phil (my boss) did not stay long in radio astronomy after completing his PhD
in Cambridge. When he got a job in Aberystwyth, he shifted his research field
to solar-terrestrial physics - the study of the Earth's magnetosphere/
ionosphere and the solar-wind - using radar systems. Hence, he is still a
'radio scientist', but not an astronomer. Whatever, despite being totally mad
and a complete pain-in-the-arse to work with (read 'find'), he must rank as
being one of the greatest living Welsh scientists. If he carries on like he's
doing, he'll be one of the greatest dead Welsh scientists.
Phil remains active in Plaid Cymru (a common interest of ours, along with
playing jazz), being spokesman on energy and environment issues. He was once
party chairman.
-----------------
Francis Sedgemore, Adran Ffiseg, Prifysgol Cymru, Aberystwyth SY23 3BZ,
CYMRU (Wales). tel: +44 (0)1970 621907; fax: 622826; email: kj...@aber.ac.uk
-----------------------------
DOS error: keyboard not responding: press F1 to continue
Lyn David Thomas
>
>
> In article <853299...@stuffing.demon.co.uk>, Lyn David Thomas writes:
>
> > Well immediately I can think of Dr Phill Williams (of Plaid Cymru
fame)
> > who did some important work on Radio Astronomy.
>
> Is Phil really a figure in Plaid? That would explain one or two of the
> points of disagreement we've had! And I thought his principal claim to
> non-scientific fame was his saxophone playing ...
>
I stand corrected, Phil Williams was party chair for a long time - I
believe that he is the party's speaker on energy issues amongst other
things these days.
While we are on the subject of Welsh scientists how about Steve Jones,
author of The Language of the Genes?
Mark Cavendish
>Phil remains active in Plaid Cymru (a common interest of ours, along with
>playing jazz), being spokesman on energy and environment issues. He was once
>party chairman.
Isn't this Phil as in "Who put the Phil in Caerphilly"? Never did get that
Gilbern, did he?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark Cavendish "If at first you don't succeed,
Cardiff, Wales don't take any more stupid chances"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rhodri Evans
considered great or important in one's field. I am an astronomer, and I
can think of 2 astronomers who are of Welsh origin who are among the most
highly regarded in the Disunited Kingdom today, namely Richard Ellis and
Martin Rees (or Sir Martin Rees).
Then there is Josephson of the Josephson effect in Physics, who was born
in Cardiff.
I remember reading an article in the Western Mail a year or so ago saying
it was a Welshman who invented the "=" sign, anyone remember his name?
The president of the Royal Society a few years ago was Welsh, a chemist I
believe (he may still be the president).
Unfortunately a good fraction of good Welsh scientists have to go outside
of Wales for their jobs, such as Martin Rees and Richard Ellis in
Astronomy (both of whom work at Cambridge).
Again in Astro I can think of Richard Griffiths of the Space Telescope
Institute and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
There are probably many, many more.
+------------------------+
Rhodri Evans - http://astro.uchicago.edu/home/web/rhe
Old Welsh proverb - "Gorau arf, arf dysg"
(The best weapon is the weapon of learning)
Russ Evans
In article <DMy3r...@midway.uchicago.edu>, Rhodri Evans writes:
> I can think of 2 astronomers who are of Welsh origin who are among the most
> highly regarded in the Disunited Kingdom today, namely Richard Ellis and
> Martin Rees (or Sir Martin Rees).
?? Sir Martin doesn't betray any signs of a Welsh background (e.g. his accent
is distinctly 'educated southern British'). What's more, he was born in York.
Does he really claim a strong affiliation with Wales?
On the general issue, it has occured to me before now that Wales has not
produced many 'famous' scientists. With all respect to Phil Williams (whose
name was in fact the first to leap to my own mind, too), he is not 'famous' in
the sense that the man on the street will recall him and his work. People
aren't likely to respond, say, 'EISCAT' in the same way that they might (just)
say 'pulsars' in response to 'Jocelyn Bell-Burnell'. There are lots of good
scientists of Welsh origin, well respected by their peers, who deserve
recognition. For instance, since most of the participants in this discussion
appear to have an astronomical background, how many of you recognise the
name 'Malcolm Howells', from Caerphilly? [Peeping at 'Who's who in science'
would be cheating, but I'm not at all sure he's in there.]
In that sense, Sir Martin's name is the first that's been mentioned in this
discussion which is genuinely 'famous'. So who's volunteering to tell him
that he's been nominated to the s.c.w Hall of Scientific Fame?
Russ
Neil Shadrach
<ru...@seismo.demon.co.uk> wrote
[snip]
>... he is not 'famous' in
>People aren't likely to respond, say, 'EISCAT' in the same way that
>they might (just)
>say 'pulsars' in response to 'Jocelyn Bell-Burnell'.
Mmm. Wouldn't bet on "pulsars" being the first word you get in response
from the man-in-the-street.
>Russ
--
Neil Shadrach
Malcolm John Bean
daf...@wales.com (Dafydd Tomos) wrote:
> I'm sure there are plenty of Welsh scientists famous
> withing their own field, but are not generally known
^^^^^^^
I presume you mean within here :). Touche!
Sorry, hope it doesn't offend but I couldn't resist that :).
--
mal
Gerald Copp
he or she was thinking of Ernest Jones (1879-1958).
He was born in Llwchwr, Glamorgan and became a doctor at UC Cardiff [no
doubt it was UC of SW & Mon then]. He learnt German so that he could
study Freud's work and later became a close friend and fellow worker,
introducing psychoanalysis to Britain.
He started the British Psychoanalytical Society in 1913 and later
founded Int. J. of Psychoanalysis (1920). He was also a professor in
Canada [Toronto?] and introduced psychoanalysis to N. America.