Science at the Royal Irish Academy: ‘Uniting whatever is pleasing with whatever is useful’ Exhibition
Dates: Monday - Friday (July 2012 - May 2013)
Times: 10:00am - 4:30pm
Location: Royal Irish Academy, 19 Dawson Street, Dublin 2
Fee: FREE
To celebrate ‘Dublin City of Science 2012’ the Library has organised an exhibition showcasing some of the important historic science collections held by the Academy. These focus on Ireland’s foremost mathematician and scientist William Rowan Hamilton (1805-65) whose mathematical genius led to discoveries including his work on dynamics which formed the basis for Erwin Schrödinger’s work in quantum mechanics.
The exhibition also highlights the contribution of Richard Kirwan (1733-1812), second Academy president, who played a significant role in the fields of chemistry, geology and meteorology, and whose work was known and honoured throughout northern Europe and in America. The father of seismology, Robert Mallet (1810-81), is also remembered as is the botanical fieldwork of Robert Lloyd Praeger (1865-1953) and the collecting of entomologists, Alexander H. Haliday (1807-70), Richard John Ussher (1841-1913), and others. The Academy’s role in promoting scientific debate and publication since its earliest days is also discussed.
The exhibition and accompanying booklet are the result of a collaboration between Academy members, Duncan Thorburn Burns and James P. O’Connor, as well as Nigel Monaghan, Keeper, National Museum of Ireland, Natural History Division, and Mairéad Treanor, Librarian, Met Éireann.
Groups by appointment. Occasionally access to the exhibition area is limited due to conferences. (Phone: 6090620; email: library@ria.ie).
For further information, please visit: http://www.ria.ie/library/exhibitions.aspx