Cosmochemical research has been conducted at the University
of Arkansas since the early nineteen fifties when Paul Kuroda was hired to
the faculty. Among his various
contributions two were cited as among 85 benchmark papers in nuclear
chemistry. These concerned the
existence of a natural self-sustaining nuclear reactor and the discovery that
Pu-244 was present in the early solar system but is now extinct. This isotope was the second “extinct”
isotope to be detected and provides novel insights into the sequence of
events in the early solar system.
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An historic
marker outside the chemistry building celebrates the contributions of Paul
Kuroda to cosmochemistry.
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