17 Facts About Peter Atkins

Peter Atkins is a prolific writer of popular chemistry textbooks, including Physical Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, and Molecular Quantum Mechanics.

Peter Atkins left school at fifteen and took a job at Monsanto as a laboratory assistant.

Peter Atkins studied for A-levels by himself and gained a place, following a last-minute interview, at the University of Leicester.

Peter Atkins studied chemistry there, obtaining a BSc degree in chemistry, and a PhD degree in 1964 for research into electron spin resonance spectroscopy, and other aspects of theoretical chemistry.

Peter Atkins then took a postdoctoral position at UCLA as a Harkness Fellow of the Commonwealth fund.

Peter Atkins returned to Britain in 1965 as a fellow and tutor of Lincoln College, Oxford, and lecturer in physical chemistry.

Peter Atkins retired in 2007, and since then has been a full-time author.

Peter Atkins has honorary doctorates from the University of Utrecht, the University of Leicester, Mendeleev University in Moscow, and Kazan State Technological University.

Peter Atkins was a member of the Council of the Royal Institution and the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Peter Atkins was the founding chairman of IUPAC Committee on Chemistry Education, and is a trustee of a variety of charities.

Peter Atkins has lectured in quantum mechanics, quantum chemistry, and thermodynamics courses at the University of Oxford.

Peter Atkins is a patron of the Oxford University Scientific Society.

In 2016 Atkins received the James T Grady-James H Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry for the Public from the American Chemical Society.

Peter Atkins has written and spoken on issues of humanism, atheism, and conflicts between science and religion.

Peter Atkins was the first Senior Member of the Oxford University Secular Society, a Distinguished Supporter of Humanists UK and an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society.

Peter Atkins is a member of the advisory board of The Reason Project, a US-based charitable foundation devoted to spreading scientific knowledge and secular values in society.

In December 2006, Peter Atkins was interviewed by journalist Rod Liddle in a UK television documentary on atheism called The Trouble with Atheism.