Peter Atkins

Peter William Atkins (b. August 10, 1940) is a Fellow and professor of chemistry at Lincoln College in the University of Oxford, England. He is a prolific writer of popular chemistry textbooks, including Physical Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry and Molecular Quantum Mechanics, three of the world's most popular chemistry textbooks. Atkins' Physical Chemistry which he now cowrites with Julio de Paula of Haverford College, is in its 8th edition. In addition, Atkins' Molecular Quantum Mechanics is in its 4th. Atkins is also the author of a number of popular science works, including Atkins' Molecules and Galileo's Finger: The Ten Great Ideas of Science.

Additional recommended knowledge

Essential Laboratory Skills Guide

How to ensure accurate weighing results every day?

Don't let static charges disrupt your weighing accuracy

Career

Peter Atkins left school at fifteen 'for private reasons' and took a job with Monsanto as a lab assistant. He studied for A-levels by himself but failed to take a place at Southampton University before, after interview, gaining a place at University of Leicester at a week's notice.

Atkins studied chemistry at the University of Leicester, obtaining a bachelor's degree in chemistry and in 1964 a Ph.D. for research into electron spin resonance and other aspects of theoretical chemistry. In 1969, he won the Royal Society of Chemistry's Meldola Medal. Atkins then taught physical chemistry at UCLA and later at Lincoln College, Oxford, where he has been ever since.

Atkins married Judith Ann Kearton in 1964 and together they had one daughter, Juliet Louise Tiffany (born 1970). The couple divorced in 1983. He later married a fellow scientist Susan Greenfield (later Baroness Greenfield) in 1991. The couple divorced in 2005.

Atkins has lectured in quantum mechanics and quantum chemistry courses (up to graduate level) at the University of Oxford. He retired from lecturing at an Undergraduate level in December 2006.

Religion

Atkins is a well-known atheist and supporter of Richard Dawkins.^[1] He has written and spoken on issues of humanism, atheism, and what he sees as the incompatibility between science and religion. Atkins has also participated with debates with theists such as Alister McGrath and William Lane Craig^[2]. He is the Senior Member for the Oxford Secular Society and an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society.

In December 2006, Atkins was featured in a UK television documentary on atheism called The Trouble with Atheism, presented by Rod Liddle. In that documentary Atkins was asked by Liddle:

"Give me your views on the existence, or otherwise, of god"

Atkins replied:

"Well it's fairly straightforward: there isn't one. And there's no evidence for one, no reason to believe that there is one, and so I don't believe that there is one. And I think that it is rather foolish that people do think that there is one"^[3]

References

• Who's Who in the World, 21st edition.
• Debrett's People of Today. Debrett's Peerage Ltd., 2006.
• Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2006.