The Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory (PTCL) is a major chemistry

Chemistry

Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....

 laboratory at the University of Oxford

University of Oxford

The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It is located in main Science Area

Science Area, Oxford

The Science Area in Oxford, England is where most of the science departments at Oxford University are located.-Overview:The main part of the Science Area is located to the south of the University Parks and to the north of South Parks Road, bounded by Parks Road to the west. Some departments are...

 of the University on South Parks Road

South Parks Road

South Parks Road is a road in Oxford, England. It runs east-west past the main Science Area of the University of Oxford, where many of the science departments are located....

. Previously it was known as the Physical Chemistry Laboratory.

History

The original physical chemistry laboratory was built in 1941 and at that time also housed the inorganic chemistry laboratory. The east wing of the building was completed in 1959 and inorganic chemistry, already in its own building on South Parks Road

South Parks Road

South Parks Road is a road in Oxford, England. It runs east-west past the main Science Area of the University of Oxford, where many of the science departments are located....

, then became a separate department in 1961. In 1972, the department of theoretical chemistry was established in a house on South Parks Road, and in 1994, the amalgamation of the physical and theoretical chemistry departments took place. This was followed shortly by the theoretical group moving into the PTCL annexe in 1995.

The University is in the early planning stages of its demolition, to be replaced by a second chemistry research laboratory.

Selected chemists

• John Albery
  John Albery
  Wyndham John Albery FRS is a British chemist and academic.John Albery was educated at Winchester College and Balliol College, Oxford. He undertook his D.Phil. with Ronnie Bell, starting in 1960...
  
  
• Peter Atkins
  Peter Atkins
  Peter William Atkins is a British chemist and former Professor of Chemistry at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Lincoln College. He is a prolific writer of popular chemistry textbooks, including Physical Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, and Molecular Quantum Mechanics...
  
  
• Ronnie Bell
  Ronnie Bell
  Ronald Percy "Ronnie" Bell FRS was a British chemist who worked in the Physical Chemistry Laboratory at Oxford University, England....
  
  
• E. J. Bowen
  E. J. Bowen
  Edmund John Bowen FRS was a British chemist. Born in Worcester, E. J. Bowen attended the Royal Grammar School Worcester. He won the Brackenbury Scholarship in 1915 and 1916 to Oxford University where he studied chemistry...
  
  
• Richard G. Compton
  Richard G. Compton
  Richard Guy Compton is a physical chemist working at the Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory at Oxford University in England. He is Physical Chemistry editor of the Oxford University Press' chemistry primer series, which has over a hundred titles to date , and also a Fellow of the Royal...
  
  
• Charles Coulson
  Charles Coulson
  Charles Alfred Coulson FRS was an applied mathematician, theoretical chemist and religious author.His major scientific work was as a pioneer of the application of the quantum theory of valency to problems of molecular structure, dynamics and reactivity...
  
  
• Frederick Dainton
  Frederick Dainton, Baron Dainton
  Frederick Sydney Dainton, Baron Dainton FRS was a British academic chemist and university administrator.A graduate of Oxford and Cambridge, he was Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Leeds, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nottingham, Professor of Chemistry at Oxford and...
  
  
• Cyril Hinshelwood
• Peter J. Hore
• Graham Richards
  Graham Richards
  Professor William Graham Richards C.B.E., M.A., D.Phil, D.Sc, C.Chem, FRSC was born 1 October 1939 in Hoylake, Cheshire and was Head of Chemistry at the University of Oxford. He is a Fellow of Brasenose College, Oxford and the author of 300 scientific articles and 15 books...
  
  
• Rex Richards
• Timothy P. Softley
• Robert K. Thomas
  Robert K. Thomas
  Robert Kemeys Thomas FRS is a physical chemist working in the Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory at the University of Oxford....
  
  
• Harold Thompson
  Harold Warris Thompson
  Sir Harold Warris Thompson was an English physical chemist.He was born in Wombwell, Yorkshire, the son of William Thompson, a colliery executive, and Charlotte Emily. He was educated at King Edward VII School in Sheffield, then at Trinity College, Oxford, where he was tutored by Cyril Norman...
  
  

External links

• Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory website