The opening of the Cavendish Laboratory in 1874 marked the beginning of a remarkable period of growth in experimental physics in Cambridge. Up to that date, there were no experimental facilities for physics in the University and the subject was not an approved discipline in Natural Sciences Tripos. The tortuous events which led to the foundation of the Laboratory and the remarkable achievements of the first three Cavendish Professors, Maxwell, Rayleigh and JJ Thomson, will be described by Professor Malcolm Longair. These Professors led the Laboratory to a world-leading position within 25 years of its foundation and its subsequent distinction can be attributed to the inspiration of these physicists.
Professor Malcolm Longair has held many highly respected positions within the fields of physics and astronomy. He was appointed the ninth Astronomer Royal of Scotland in 1980, as well as the Regius Professor of Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, and the director of the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh. Professor Longair was head of the Cavendish Laboratory from 1997 to 2005 and has served on and chaired many international committees, boards and panels, working with both NASA and the European Space Agency. He has received much recognition for his work over the years, including a CBE in the millennium honours list for his services to astronomy and cosmology. His main research interests are in high energy astrophysics and astrophysical cosmology. Over recent years these have centred on the astrophysics of the most luminous extragalactic radio sources. Most recently, Professor Longair has become involved in studies of the origins of cosmic magnetism and the capabilities of the Square Kilometer Array telescope in advancing these studies. His current major project concerns a scientific history of the Cavendish Laboratory.
