University of Cambridge

About University of Cambridge

The Cavendish Laboratory is the Department of Physics at the University of Cambridge and was founded in 1871 with the simultaneous appointment of James Clerk Maxwell as the first Cavendish Professor. It has a distinguished history of contribution to science. Twenty-nine Nobel prize-winners have worked for considerable periods within the laboratory, and the Cavendish is associated with many notable discoveries, including the identification of the electron and neutron, the structure of DNA, and the discovery of pulsars. A new era is beginning for Physics at Cambridge, with construction work underway for a new purpose-built centre for world-leading research, replacing our current buildings which date from 1971. The new building, the Ray Dolby Centre, and our strategic plan, both represent a renaissance in the way we carry out physics research and achieve our research goals. The spirit of adventure and innovation will be fostered in the Cavendish tradition, but adapted to the new needs of frontier research.