Thomas Parnell (5 July 1881 – 1 September 1948) was the first Professor of

Physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

at the

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

. He started the famous

pitch drop experiment A pitch drop experiment is a long-term experiment which measures the flow of a piece of pitch over many years. "Pitch" is the name for any of a number of highly viscous liquids which appear solid, most commonly bitumen, also known as asphalt. ...

there.

Education

Thomas Parnell was born in

West Haddon West Haddon is a village in West Northamptonshire, England about north-west of Northampton and east of Rugby, Warwickshire, Rugby and just off the A428 road which by-passes the village. The population of civil parish was 1,718 at the 2011 Cens ...

, Northamptonshire,

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and died in

Indooroopilly Indooroopilly ( , colloquially Indro ) is a riverside suburb south-west of the Brisbane CBD, Queensland, Australia. In the , Indooroopilly had a population of 13,622 people. Geography Indooroopilly is bounded to the south and south-east by ...

Brisbane, Australia Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

. He was educated at

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

, after winning a scholarship and received his B.A. in 1903. He received his M.A. from Cambridge in 1908.

Career

Parnell took up a tutoring position at

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

, at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

, between 1904 and 1911, with the hope that it would enable him to have time to pursue research, and then apply for a Fellowship position at the Cambridge. However his teaching duties in physics, mathematics and chemistry were so numerous, that he never had the time to dedicate to research. He elected to move to Brisbane with friend and future wife,

Hermiene Ulrich Hermiene Friederica Ulrich (1885–1956) was the first female lecturer at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. She played a central role in shaping the early teaching and curriculum of the University of Queensland. E ...

, also a lecturer at the newly established

. He lectured in physics at the University of Queensland between 1911 and 1918, and was a professor between 1919 and 1948. He enlisted in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

as a private in the Australian Imperial Force in 1917, after having been in the Volunteers in England. He served as a gunner, often under the orders of his former students. He refunded his excess pay during the War, back to the University, to assist ex-servicemen planning on undertaking study. His wife, Hermiene, returned to lecturing work during World War I, to assist the University. Parnell would begin his research into a high-precision method of measuring

inductance Inductance is the tendency of an electrical conductor to oppose a change in the electric current flowing through it. The electric current produces a magnetic field around the conductor. The magnetic field strength depends on the magnitude of the ...

in 1917. During 1922, he took part in an expedition to

Goondiwindi Goondiwindi () is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Goondiwindi Region, Queensland, Australia. It is on the border of Queensland and New South Wales. In the , the locality of Goondiwindi had a population of 6, ...

to witness a

total solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs approximately every six months, during the eclipse season i ...

, and test Einstein's

theory of relativity The theory of relativity usually encompasses two interrelated physics theories by Albert Einstein: special relativity and general relativity, proposed and published in 1905 and 1915, respectively. Special relativity applies to all physical ph ...

in this setting. In 1927 Parnell initiated an intriguing experiment to allow long-term observation of the behaviour of material known to have an extremely high

coefficient of viscosity Viscosity is a measure of a fluid's rate-dependent resistance to a change in shape or to movement of its neighboring portions relative to one another. For liquids, it corresponds to the informal concept of ''thickness''; for example, syrup h ...

. Thus began his now famous

, which, against all the odds, has been carefully preserved by UQ Physics to this day. Under his leadership the physics department developed a useful service role, both in providing a scientific base for the Queensland hospital system's

X-ray An X-ray (also known in many languages as Röntgen radiation) is a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than those of ultraviolet rays and longer than those of gamma rays. Roughly, X-rays have a wavelength ran ...

and

radium Radium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in alkaline earth metal, group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, ...

services, and establishing a

radon Radon is a chemical element; it has symbol Rn and atomic number 86. It is a radioactive noble gas and is colorless and odorless. Of the three naturally occurring radon isotopes, only Rn has a sufficiently long half-life (3.825 days) for it to b ...

laboratory. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Parnell organised a radio sounding station for the Radio Research Board, which assisted with

short wave radio Shortwave radio is radio transmission using radio frequencies in the shortwave bands (SW). There is no official definition of the band range, but it always includes all of the High frequency, high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30& ...

communications. Parnell was never able to return to full-time research, burdened by his numerous roles at the University. He was Chairman (1919–23) and Dean (1928–31 and 1935) of the Faculty of Science, a member (1932–35, 1938–44) of the Senate, and President (1938–44) of the Professorial Board. He was involved in the protracted negotiations that led to the creation (1933) of a massage school and the introduction (1937) of a diploma in

physiotherapy Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is a healthcare profession, as well as the care provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through patient education, physical intervention, disease preventio ...

. In 1935 he was a member of the planning committee for the faculty of medicine, and of a delegation to the

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the state government of Queensland, Australia, a Parliament, parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Government is formed by the party or coalition that has gained a majority in the Queensland Legislative Assembly, ...

that resulted in the establishment of a separate faculty of

dentistry Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the Human tooth, teeth, gums, and Human mouth, mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, dis ...

. While president of the Professorial board, Parnell represented the university on the

Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee Universities Australia (formerly the ''Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee'') is an organisation founded in Sydney in May 1920, which attempts to advance higher education through voluntary, cooperative and coordinated action. After being ba ...

. He was president of the

Royal Society of Queensland The Royal Society of Queensland was formed in Queensland, Australia in 1884 from the Queensland Philosophical Society, Queensland's oldest scientific institution, with royal patronage granted in 1885. The aim of the Society is "Progressing scie ...

(1928–29). In World War II he was a member of the Radio Research Board, the Queensland Cancer Trust, and the board of visitors of the Commonwealth Solar Observatory,

Mount Stromlo Mount Stromlo (formerly Mount Strom ) is a mountain with an elevation of that is situated in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. The mountain is most notable as the location of the Mount Stromlo Observatory. The mountain forms par ...

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...

. Parnell died of hypertensive cardiorenal failure on 1 September 1948 at

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, and was cremated.

Legacy

A major building fronting the Great Court bears his name – the Parnell building. The physics department library which he had helped to establish was named the Parnell Memorial Library in 1948 and was eventually absorbed by the Dorothy Hill Engineering and Sciences Library at UQ in 1997. In October

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

he was posthumously awarded the

Ig Nobel prize The Ig Nobel Prize () is a satirical prize awarded annually since 1991 to promote public engagement with scientific research. Its aim is to "honor achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think." The name of the award is a ...

for Physics for the

, along with the experiment's then custodian, John Mainstone. His son, Thomas Meredith Parnell, became Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Queensland.

References

External links

Physics in Australia to 1945
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parnell, Thomas Australian physicists 1881 births 1948 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Royal Society of Queensland People from West Haddon British emigrants to Australia Military personnel from Northamptonshire Australian military personnel of World War I Australian Army soldiers Ig Nobel laureates