Cavendish Professor of Physics the university regulations which allowed students who had not studied at Cambridge to receive a B.A. by submitting a thesis which was judged "of distinction as a record of original research." Among the students attracted by this change was future Cavendish Professor Ernest Rutherford. Whilst Thomson was Cavendish Professor, he discovered the electron and the existence of isotopes, and also fostered an atmosphere of friendliness and mutual helpfulness. Rutherford returned to Cambridge in 1918, and spent the last 19 years of his life there. This was around the time of the change from classical to modern physics, and Rutherford was
Durham University Department of Physics The chair was established in 2001, following a benefaction from Sir Peter. "List of Ogden Professors" The department's staff includes 24 professors, 6 readers, 8 senior lecturers, 9 lecturers, about 50 post-doctoral researchers and fellows and 90 PhD postgraduate students. These include: The department maintains five research groups: In addition the department is involved with the Institute for Computational Cosmology, the Institute for Particle Physics Phenomenology, the Photonic Materials Institute, the Centre for Renewable Energy and the Biophysical Sciences Institute. The "Durham University Physics Society" ("PhysSoc") is mostly made up of Physics Undergraduates from the department but is open to