• This Week in Science History: Nicolaus Copernicus

    February 17, 2012

    By Brian Nunnally,
    Associate Director

    Every week is a great week for science!  This Week in Science History is one of the best as I was tempted by way too many anniversaries.  So many cool things happened this week: Arrhenius (02/19/1859) and Boltzmann (02/20/1844) were born (in addition to several Nobel laureates born this week), new ocean life is found ...

  • This Week in Science History: Charles Darwin

    February 13, 2012

    By Brian Nunnally,
    Associate Director

    Charles Robert Darwin is one of the few scientists who has transcended science into popular culture and the mainstream of public consciousness. In the United States, one does not have to look far to see his name, as it can routinely be spotted on the backs of cars. Schoolchildren and even the huddled masses know ...

  • This Week in Science History: Josiah Willard Gibbs

    February 6, 2012

    By Brian Nunnally,
    Associate Director

     I love chemistry and reading about famous chemists. Further, I really like writing about them; perhaps educating current scientists about their contributions and backgrounds. This Week In Science History, I am profiling another in my famous chemist series, J. Willard Gibbs, who was born this week, on February 11, 1839.   Gibbs came from a long ...

  • This Week in Science History: Explorer 1 & The First Primate in Space

    January 30, 2012

    By Brian Nunnally,
    Associate Director

    I am an unapologetic and enthusiastic supporter of the space program, so space anniversaries naturally appeal to me. This Week in Science History, two important space anniversaries occurred on January 31.  I’ll discuss each one separately.  On January 31, 1958, the United States officially entered the space race with the launching of the satellite Explorer ...

  • This Week in Science History: Discovery of Pluto

    January 24, 2012

    By Brian Nunnally,
    Associate Director

    Be honest.  How many of you reading this post were upset when Pluto was “downgraded” to a dwarf planet?  I count myself in that group.    When I was a child, I learned there were nine planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.  I remember hearing about the vote on a new ...

  • This Week in Science History: Sir Edward Frankland

    January 16, 2012

    By Brian Nunnally,
    Associate Director

    In this New Year I am continuing my series on famous chemists.  I must admit that this week’s chemist was not one familiar to me, but he should be.  On January 18 1825, Sir Edward Frankland was born in Lancaster, England, likely the son of a tawdry affair and probably the reason for his lack ...

  • This Week in Science History: Sir Alec Jeffreys

    January 9, 2012

    By Brian Nunnally,
    Associate Director

    Before deciding to work in the Pharmaceutical industry, I explored working in Criminal Justice (I am proud of an interview with the FBI and a job offer from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation). I was interested in working in forensic science, specifically in DNA fingerprinting.  The scientist who developed these techniques, Sir Alec Jeffreys, was ...

  • This Week in Science History: The Rover Spirit landing on Mars

    January 2, 2012

    By Brian Nunnally,
    Associate Director

    Happy New Year to all of my loyal U.S. readers and to any new readers! Let’s start 2012 off with a big anniversary! On January 4, 2004, the rover Spirit landed on Mars. By any measure used, this mission was a resounding success. Spirit was the first mobile laboratory to land on another planet. It ...

  • This Week in Science History: The Anniversary of Anesthesia

    December 25, 2011

    By Brian Nunnally,
    Associate Director

    A few weeks ago, I blogged about Fritz Haber and talked about what a legacy means.  As I surveyed the anniversaries for This Week in Science History (TWISH), another thought occurred to me: what about credit? For many of the discoveries we talk about in school, there is controversy about to whom they should be ...

  • This Week in Science History: Thomas Graham

    December 19, 2011

    By Brian Nunnally,
    Associate Director

    Continuing my great chemist series, my This Week in Science History (TWISH) post is on Thomas Graham. Graham was born in Glasgow Scotland, the son of a textile manufacturer, on December 21, 1805.  His father’s wish was for him to become a member of the clergy.  He defied his father and instead entered the University of ...