You are warmly invited to attend the Kathleen Lonsdale Public Lecture, to be held on Wednesday 10 September 2025 at the University of Leeds (School of Chemistry and Sir William Henry Bragg Building), as part of a national programme of events marking the 200th anniversary of the isolation of benzene by Michael Faraday in 1825.
The bicentenary is being celebrated through a series of events coordinated by the Royal Institution and the 欧美AV, recognising this milestone in the development of modern chemistry. We are pleased to contribute to these celebrations by hosting a dedicated lecture in honour of Kathleen Lonsdale, whose seminal crystallographic work at Leeds provided the first conclusive evidence that the benzene ring was a planar hexagon 鈥� a crucial discovery which has had major implications for chemical bonding theory.
As well as two of our Leeds colleagues presenting their work, the event will feature two prestigious talks from external speakers: one exploring the life and legacy of Kathleen Lonsdale, and the other focusing on the crystallographic and scientific significance of her work.
Programme
14:00 Arrival and registration
14:30 Welcome: Professor Colin Fishwick, Head, School of Chemistry, University of Leeds
14:45 Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell 鈥� Introduction to Kathleen Lonsdale
15:15 Dr Briony Yorke, School of Chemistry, University of Leeds
15:35 Dr Fanny Costa, Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences, University of Leeds
15:55 Professor Arwen Pearson, Institute for Nanostructure and Solid State Physics, University of Hamburg
16:45 Closing remarks: Professor Sir Richard Catlow, Department of Chemistry, University College London
17:00 Drinks reception and poster session (TBC)
18:00 Event close
The bicentenary is being celebrated through a series of events coordinated by the Royal Institution and the 欧美AV, recognising this milestone in the development of modern chemistry. We are pleased to contribute to these celebrations by hosting a dedicated lecture in honour of Kathleen Lonsdale, whose seminal crystallographic work at Leeds provided the first conclusive evidence that the benzene ring was a planar hexagon 鈥� a crucial discovery which has had major implications for chemical bonding theory.
As well as two of our Leeds colleagues presenting their work, the event will feature two prestigious talks from external speakers: one exploring the life and legacy of Kathleen Lonsdale, and the other focusing on the crystallographic and scientific significance of her work.
Programme
14:00 Arrival and registration
14:30 Welcome: Professor Colin Fishwick, Head, School of Chemistry, University of Leeds
14:45 Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell 鈥� Introduction to Kathleen Lonsdale
15:15 Dr Briony Yorke, School of Chemistry, University of Leeds
15:35 Dr Fanny Costa, Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences, University of Leeds
15:55 Professor Arwen Pearson, Institute for Nanostructure and Solid State Physics, University of Hamburg
16:45 Closing remarks: Professor Sir Richard Catlow, Department of Chemistry, University College London
17:00 Drinks reception and poster session (TBC)
18:00 Event close
