Thomas Edwin Nevin (4 October 1906 in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

– 16 July 1986 in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...

and

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

who had a distinguished career in the field of

molecular spectroscopy Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets the electromagnetic spectra that result from the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and matter as a function of the wavelength or frequency of the radiation. Matter wa ...

. He was Professor of

Experimental Physics Experimental physics is the category of disciplines and sub-disciplines in the field of physics that are concerned with the observation of physical phenomena and experiments. Methods vary from discipline to discipline, from simple experiments and ...

and Dean of the Faculty of Science in

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

from 1963 to 1979.

Personal life

Thomas E. Nevin was born in Bristol, Somerset on 4 October 1906. He was the eldest of seven children born to Thomas Nevin of

Cashel, County Tipperary Cashel (; ) is a town in County Tipperary in Ireland. Its population was 4,422 in the 2016 census. The town gives its name to the ecclesiastical province of ''Cashel''. Additionally, the ''cathedra'' of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel ...

, and Alice Nevin (née Higginson) of

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

. Áine Ní Chnáimhín (1908–2001) who wrote a biography of

Pádraic Ó Conaire Pádraic Ó Conaire (28 February 1882 – 6 October 1928) was an Irish writer and journalist whose production was primarily in the Irish language. In his lifetime he wrote 26 books, 473 stories, 237 essays and 6 plays. His acclaimed novel '' ...

was Nevin's sister; historian and trade unionist Donal Nevin was his brother. In January 1936 he married Monica T. M. Morrissey, a UCD graduate in

Celtic studies Celtic studies or Celtology is the academic discipline occupied with the study of any sort of cultural output relating to the Celtic-speaking peoples (i.e. speakers of Celtic languages). This ranges from linguistics, literature and art histor ...

who went on to serve on the Council of the

Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland The Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland is a learned society based in Ireland, whose aims are "to preserve, examine and illustrate all ancient monuments and memorials of the arts, manners and customs of the past, as connected with the antiquit ...

and did research on antiquarian matters for ''Irish History Online''. The couple had four daughters together.

Education and career

Born in 1906 in Bristol, England, the oldest of seven children of an Irish father and English mother, the family soon settled in Ireland where he spent his youth. From 1919 to 1924 he attended the

CBS Sexton Street CBS Sexton Street is a Christian Brothers secondary school located in Limerick, Ireland. The school has approximately 500 students. The current principal is Denis O'Connor, and the current vice principal is Elaine O'Connell. History Colaiste ...

secondary school in

Limerick City Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 c ...

. The school had no science program, but Nevin was interested in physics and managed to learn the subject pretty thoroughly on his own. In 1924 he got a scholarship to University College Dublin, where he excelled in mathematics and physics, winning

first-class honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...

every year, and earning an honours B.Sc. in

and Mathematics in 1927. He got his M.Sc. under J.J. Nolan in 1928 for a treatise on "The Effect of Water Vapour on the Diffusion Coefficients and Mobilities of Ions in the Air". That year he was also awarded an

1851 Research Fellowship The 1851 Research Fellowship is a scheme conducted by the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 to annually award a three-year research scholarship to approximately eight "young scientists or engineers of exceptional promise". The fellowship ...

, which enabled him to study

spectroscopy Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets the electromagnetic spectra that result from the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and matter as a function of the wavelength or frequency of the radiation. Matter wa ...

Imperial College, London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

(1929–1931). In 1931, he returned to Dublin to continue his research and was appointed an assistant in the department of experimental physics.Nevin, Thomas Edwin (1906–86)
Dictionary of Irish biography In 1940, he was awarded a D.Sc. degree at

National University of Ireland The National University of Ireland (NUI) ( ga, Ollscoil na hÉireann) is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called ''university college, constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under t ...

for previously published work, and in 1942, he was awarded an honorary doctorate at

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s he continued his research in molecular spectroscopy, often working with research groups in fundamental particle and cosmic ray physics. He was a capable administrator at UCD, serving on the university's finance and buildings committees, as well as the academic council and governing body, and he initiated many improvements to the physics department. When J. J. Nolan died in 1952, Nevin succeeded him as Professor of Experimental Physics, a position he held until his retirement in 1979. Nevin was a strong advocate for expansion of the UCD campus, which for half a century was based at Earlsfort Terrace in the city. As a key member of UCD's academic council and a member of its buildings committee (1957–76), he was instrumental in moving the science faculty to the new Belfield campus in the southern suburbs in 1964. He was a key figure in the formation of the Irish branch of

Institute of Physics The Institute of Physics (IOP) is a UK-based learned society and professional body that works to advance physics education, research and application. It was founded in 1874 and has a worldwide membership of over 20,000. The IOP is the Physica ...

.40th Anniversary Newsletter
Institute of Physics in Ireland, Series 5, No 10, September 2004
The Institute of Physics in Ireland At the

Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) ( ga, Institiúid Ard-Léinn Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a statutory independent research institute in Ireland. It was established in 1940 on the initiative of the Taoiseach, Éamon de Valera, in Dub ...

he was a member of the governing boards of the school of theoretical physics (1943-1961) and the school of cosmic physics (1948-1956). On 16 March 1942 he was elected a member of the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned socie ...

and served on its council from 1944 to 1968.

Thomas E. Nevin Medal

The Thomas E. Nevin Medal and Prize is given annually, in honour of Nevin, to the graduate who passes with first-class honours and is placed first in the BSc (Honours) degree examination in Physics, at the University College Dublin..Long Description
Thomas E. Nevin Medal and PrizeDesmond McKernan wins 1993 Thomas E. Nevin Medal & Prize
Borough of Manhattan Community College

Papers

*1985
Jeremiah Hogan and University College Dublin
' by Thomas E. Nevin, in Studies, An Irish Quarterly Review published by Irish Province of the Society of Jesus, Vol 74, No 295, pp. 325–335 * 1931
The spectrum of barium fluoride in the extreme red and near infra-red
' by Thomas E Nevin,

Proceedings of the Physical Society The ''Proceedings of the Physical Society'' was a journal on the subject of physics, originally associated with the Physical Society of London, England. In 1968, it was replaced by the ''Journal of Physics''. Journal history * 1874–1925 ...

, Vol 43, No 5. * 1930
The Effect of Water Vapour on the Diffusion Coefficients and Mobilities of Ions in the Air
' by J. J. Nolan and T. E. Nevin,

Proceedings of the Royal Society ''Proceedings of the Royal Society'' is the main research journal of the Royal Society. The journal began in 1831 and was split into two series in 1905: * Series A: for papers in physical sciences and mathematics. * Series B: for papers in life s ...

, London, 127, 155–174.

References

External links

* "Physicists of Ireland, Passion and Precision", by Mark McCartney (Editor), Andrew Whitaker (Editor), 1 edition (15 September 2003) CRC Press. {{DEFAULTSORT:Nevin, Thomas E. Irish physicists 20th-century Irish scientists Spectroscopists Academics of University College Dublin Alumni of the National University of Ireland Members of the Royal Irish Academy 1906 births 1986 deaths