Did you know that the facade of the Xavier University’s iconic Science Center features the names of 25 “Immortals of Science”? COPERNICUS • RICCI • KEPLER • GALILEO • HARVEY • NEWTON • LAVOISIER • DALTON • DARWIN • FARADAY • MENDEL • PASTEUR • FAURA • EINSTEIN • CARREL • ROENTGEN • KOCH • MORGAN • BURBANK • CURIE • MARCONI • PLANCK • FERMI • DEPPERMAN • TEILHARD DE CHARDIN. You may recognize many of these names, while a few might be less familiar. Learn more about them below!
COPERNICUS – Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543) was a Polish astronomer and mathematician who is most famous for proposing the heliocentric theory—the idea that the Earth and other planets revolve around the Sun, not the other way around. His book, “On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres” (1543), started what is known as the Scientific Revolution.
RICCI – Matteo Ricci (1552–1610) was an Italian Jesuit priest, scholar, and missionary who played a key role in bridging Western and Chinese cultures. He was one of the first Westerners to live in Chinese society for an extended period, mastering the language and respecting local customs to spread Christianity. Ricci introduced Western science, mathematics, astronomy, and geography to China, while also sharing Chinese knowledge with Europe. He created the first European-style world map in Chinese and earned respect from scholars and officials at the Ming court through his intellect and diplomacy, leaving a lasting legacy of cultural exchange.
KEPLER – Johannes Kepler (1571–1630) was a German astronomer and mathematician who is famous for discovering the three laws of planetary motion, which describe how planets move around the Sun. His discoveries later helped Isaac Newton develop the law of gravitation.
GALILEO – Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist, and inventor often hailed as the “Father of Modern Science.” He is best known for refining the telescope and using it to make groundbreaking astronomical discoveries, including the four largest moons of Jupiter (now called the Galilean moons), the mountains and craters on the Moon, the phases of Venus, and the countless stars that make up the Milky Way.
HARVEY – William Harvey (1578–1657) was an English physician renowned for discovering and explaining the circulation of blood in the human body. He demonstrated that the heart functions as a pump, continuously sending blood throughout the body via arteries and veins.
NEWTON – Sir Isaac Newton (1642–1727) was an English mathematician, physicist, and astronomer, widely regarded as one of the most influential scientists in history. He formulated the three fundamental laws of motion that describe how objects move, explaining the universal law of gravitation which states that every object in the universe attracts every other object, co-developing calculus (independently of Gottfried Leibniz) as a crucial branch of mathematics for science and engineering, and studying optics by demonstrating that white light is composed of various colors.
LAVOISIER – Antoine Lavoisier (1743–1794), was a French chemist often called the “Father of Modern Chemistry.” He established the law of conservation of mass, showing that mass is neither created nor destroyed in chemical reactions. He helped identify and name key elements such as oxygen and hydrogen, explained their roles in combustion, developed a systematic method for naming chemical substances, and disproved the outdated phlogiston theory, laying the foundation for modern chemistry.
DALTON – John Dalton (1766–1844) was an English scientist and chemist best known for creating the modern atomic theory. He proposed that all matter is made of tiny, indivisible particles called atoms that combine in fixed ratios to form compounds. He also discovered Dalton’s Law, which explains how gases in a mixture exert pressure independently. His work helped lay the foundation for modern chemistry.
DARWIN – Charles Darwin (1809–1882) was an English naturalist and biologist famous for developing the theory of evolution by natural selection. He proposed that species change over time, with individuals that have traits better suited to their environment being more likely to survive and reproduce. In his influential book On the Origin of Species (1859), Darwin presented evidence from his studies of plants, animals, and fossils to support his ideas. His work revolutionized biology and greatly advanced our understanding of life on Earth.
FARADAY – Michael Faraday (1791–1867) was an English scientist known for his work in electricity and chemistry. He discovered that moving a magnet through a coil of wire can create electricity, which is the basis for electric generators. He also studied how electricity affects chemical reactions and introduced important terms like electrode, anode, cathode, and ion. His discoveries laid the groundwork for modern electricity and technology.
MENDEL – Gregor Mendel (1822–1884) was an Austrian monk and scientist known as the “Father of Genetics.” He discovered the basic laws of inheritance through experiments with pea plants, showing how traits are passed from parents to offspring. Mendel identified that some traits are dominant while others are recessive, explaining patterns in inheritance. His work laid the foundation for modern genetics, although it was not widely recognized until years after his death.
PASTEUR – Louis Pasteur (1822–1895) was a French chemist and microbiologist renowned for his work on germ theory, vaccination, and pasteurization. He demonstrated that microorganisms are responsible for many diseases, transforming medicine and hygiene practices. Pasteur developed vaccines for serious illnesses such as rabies and anthrax, and he invented pasteurization, a process that kills harmful microbes in food and drinks like milk and wine. His discoveries laid the foundation for modern microbiology and preventive medicine.
FAURA – Federico Faura (1840–1897) was a Spanish Jesuit priest, mathematician, and meteorologist who played a pioneering role in the development of weather science in the Philippines. He directed the Manila Observatory, transforming it into a center for studying weather, earthquakes, magnetism, and astronomy. In 1879, Faura issued one of the first typhoon warnings in the Far East, accurately predicting the storm’s path and duration. He also developed the Faura barometer, a specialized instrument to detect atmospheric changes associated with approaching storms. His work laid the foundation for systematic meteorology and disaster preparedness in the Philippines, and Padre Faura Street in Manila stands as a tribute to his legacy.
EINSTEIN – Albert Einstein (1879–1955) was a German-born physicist famous for developing the theory of relativity and the equation E = mc², and for his work on the photoelectric effect, which earned him the Nobel Prize.
CARREL – Alexis Carrel (1873–1944) was a French surgeon and biologist best known for pioneering breakthroughs in vascular suturing and organ transplantation. His innovative techniques for stitching blood vessels laid the foundation for modern transplant surgery. In 1912, he received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for these contributions. Carrel also conducted research on tissue culture, explored ideas about human longevity, and co-authored the Carrel-Dakin method for treating infected wounds during World War I—a development that saved many lives.
ROENTGEN – Wilhelm Conrad Röentgen (1845–1923) was a German physicist who discovered X-rays in 1895, revolutionizing medical imaging. For this groundbreaking work, he received the first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901. His discovery made it possible to see inside the body without surgery and transformed science and medicine.
KOCH – Robert Koch (1843–1910) was a German physician and microbiologist famous for discovering the bacteria that cause anthrax, tuberculosis, and cholera, and for developing Koch’s postulates, which link specific microbes to specific diseases.
MORGAN – Thomas Hunt Morgan (1866–1945) was an American geneticist and embryologist renowned for his work on the chromosome theory of inheritance. Through his experiments with fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster), he demonstrated that genes are carried on chromosomes and are responsible for heredity. Morgan discovered sex-linked inheritance and genetic mutations, providing key evidence for how traits are passed from one generation to the next. His groundbreaking research earned him the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1933 and laid the foundation for modern genetics.
BURBANK – Luther Burbank (1849–1926) was an American botanist and horticulturist renowned for developing hundreds of new plant varieties through selective breeding. He created over 800 varieties of fruits, vegetables, and flowers, including the famous Russet Burbank potato, the Shasta daisy, and improved plums, peaches, and berries. Burbank’s work greatly enhanced crop yields, disease resistance, and food quality, helping to modernize horticulture and agriculture. His innovations had a lasting impact on plant breeding practices worldwide.
CURIE – Marie Curie (1867–1934) was a Polish-French physicist and chemist renowned for her groundbreaking research on radioactivity. She discovered the radioactive elements polonium and radium and developed methods to isolate radioactive isotopes, laying the foundation for nuclear physics and chemistry. Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and remains the only person to have won Nobel Prizes in two different sciences—Physics in 1903 and Chemistry in 1911. Her work also contributed to medical advances, including the development of X-rays and cancer treatments.
MARCONI – Guglielmo Marconi (1874–1937) was an Italian inventor and electrical engineer renowned for pioneering long-distance radio communication. He developed the first practical system for sending and receiving wireless signals, and in 1901, he successfully transmitted the first radio signal across the Atlantic Ocean. Marconi’s achievements earned him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1909, shared with Karl Ferdinand Braun, and his work laid the foundation for modern radio, broadcasting, and wireless communication.
PLANCK – Max Planck (1858–1947) was a German physicist renowned for founding quantum theory, which transformed our understanding of atomic and subatomic processes. He proposed that energy is emitted or absorbed in discrete units called quanta, introducing the fundamental constant known as Planck’s constant. For this groundbreaking work, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918. Planck’s discoveries laid the foundation for modern physics and influenced the development of quantum mechanics by later scientists such as Albert Einstein.
FERMI – Enrico Fermi (1901–1954) was an Italian-American physicist renowned for his groundbreaking work in nuclear physics. He made pioneering contributions to the understanding of nuclear reactions and radioactive decay, and in 1942, he led the team that built Chicago Pile-1, the world’s first controlled nuclear chain reaction. Fermi also developed Fermi-Dirac statistics, which describe the behavior of particles called fermions in quantum mechanics. Awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1938 for his work on induced radioactivity, he is often called the “architect of the nuclear age” for his lasting impact on both theoretical and experimental physics.
DEPPERMAN – Charles E. Deppermann, S.J. (1889–1962) was an American Jesuit priest and scientist best known for his work in the Philippines. He served at the Manila Observatory, where he became a leading researcher in meteorology and helped rebuild the institution after World War II. Deppermann is most recognized for his pioneering studies on typhoons and tropical weather, which became foundational research in the field.
TEILHARD DE CHARDIN – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881–1955) was a French Jesuit priest, philosopher, paleontologist, and theologian. He is most famous for trying to bridge the gap between Christian theology and evolutionary science. He is remembered as a visionary figure who tried to reconcile religious belief with modern scientific understanding of evolution and the universe.
The iconic Science Center Building is one of eight (8) buildings with exceptional and historical significance at the existing main campus along Corrales Avenue that will be retained and preserved.
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