James Marshall: World traveler and element collector

		James Marshall, professor of chemistry, travels the world with his wife, Virginia, collecting samples of the elements of the periodic table from the places where they were originally discovered. The Marshalls are compiling a book that will share their knowledge of the elements with others.

James Marshall, professor of chemistry, can't help that he's obsessed by the history of the elements of the periodic table. Science and history are in his genes.

"I grew up in a home where those two subjects really mattered," he says. "My mother was a genealogist and loved to write. My father was a chemistry professor. He loved to create science games like ‘Welcome to Atom Land.'"

Marshall combined the best of his parents' worlds. In 1967, he began working at UNT as an assistant chemistry professor. He left for a stint in private industry in the early '80s before returning to the university in 1987 as chair of the materials science department. Currently he teaches core chemistry classes designed to give students a broad perspective of science.

Marshall also followed in his mother's footsteps by becoming a genealogist of sorts. But instead of tracing the roots of a family tree, he tracks down the origins of the elements in the periodic table. He has assembled what is perhaps one of the world's most unusual collections by gathering pure samples of nearly all chemical elements as well as objects made from these elements.

From France to Germany, Belgium to Luxembourg, Marshall and his wife, Jenny, have sleuthed through museums, archives, personal papers and chemical literature to find the sites where the elements were first discovered. Marshall also collects samples of the elements and arranges them in a three-dimensional table he calls a "Living Periodic Table."

The Marshalls are currently working on a book and a CD to share their unique knowledge of the history of the elements. They call it Rediscovery of the Elements.

"All samples — the ones that can be safely handled — have traveled from all over the world and found a home in Denton," Marshall says. "We display a set of the basic elements at the chemistry building and at our house."

Jenny Marshall, who is the official photographer of the exploration team, says she and her husband have had great adventures collecting the elements.

"We were in France trying to trace the history of uranium when the transportation system was shut down because of a strike," she says. "After a long walk to Madame Curie's museum, we were disappointed to find it closed."

She says when curators found out about the element project, "they opened the museum and let us look at Madame Curie's personal artifacts."

Marshall's collection will have a new home in UNT's Chemistry Building. A ribbon cutting for the building is scheduled Oct. 23 at 3 p.m.

A permanent granite periodic table will be set into the sidewalk in front of the new Chemistry Building. Donors can "buy" an element, then choose text to be engraved on their element. For more information about the table, contact Betty Norwood, administrative assistant in chemistry, at (940) 565-3515 or send an e-mail to norwood@unt.edu.

BY CATHY CASHIO ccashio@unt.edu

Other featured articles in this issue

• Students approve fee to fund new Student Health and Wellness Center
• Homecoming event celebrates UNT desegregation anniversary
• Still time to participate in State Employee Charitable Campaign
• UNT professor of physics to deliver Regents Faculty Lecture Nov. 3
• ABC's 20/20 co-anchor to give free lecture
• General Election Day is less than two weeks away
• Campus events planned for Halloween
• Growth trend continues at UNT Dallas Campus
• Technology competition coming to Denton
• Latest UNT crime statistics available
• November is Native American Month

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