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The Production of Transuranic Elements

1945 - 1974

The Radiation Laboratory (now Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) at the University of California, Berkeley, led principally by Edwin McMillan, Glenn Seaborg, and Albert Ghiorso, during 1945-1974:

93 Np neptunium named after the planet Neptune, as it follows uranium and Neptune follows Uranus in the planetary sequence 1940
94 Pu plutonium named after the dwarf planet Pluto, following the same naming rule as it follows neptunium and Pluto follows Neptune in the pre-2006 planetary sequence 1940
95 Am americium named because it is an analog to europium, and so was named after the continent where it was first produced 1944
96 Cm curium named after Pierre and Marie Curie, famous scientists who separated out the first radioactive elements 1944
97 Bk berkelium named after the city of Berkeley, where the University of California, Berkeley is located 1949
98 Cf californium named after the state of California, where the university is located 1950
99 Es einsteinium named after the theoretical physicist Albert Einstein 1952
100 Fm fermium named after Enrico Fermi, the physicist who produced the first controlled chain reaction 1952
101 Md mendelevium named after the Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev, credited for being the primary creator of the periodic table of the chemical elements 1955
102 No nobelium named after Alfred Nobel 1956
103 Lr lawrencium named after Ernest O. Lawrence, a physicist best known for development of the cyclotron, and the person for whom the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (which hosted the creation of these transuranium elements) are named 1961
104 Rf rutherfordium

named after Ernest Rutherford, who was responsible for the concept of the atomic nucleus.

This discovery was also claimed by the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna, Russia (then in the Soviet Union), led principally by G. N. Flerov

 1968
105 Db dubnium an element that is named after the city of Dubna, where the JINR is located. Originally named "hahnium" in honor of Otto Hahn (1970) but renamed by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. This discovery was also claimed by the JINR. 1970
106 Sg seaborgium named after Glenn T. Seaborg. This name caused controversy because Seaborg was still alive, but eventually became accepted by international chemists. This discovery was also claimed by the JINR. 1974

1980 - 2000

The Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung (Society for Heavy Ion Research) in Darmstadt, Hessen, Germany, led principally by Peter Armbruster and Sigurd Hofmann, during 1980-2000:

107 Bh bohrium named after the Danish physicist Niels Bohr, important in the elucidation of the structure of the atom. This discovery was also claimed by the JINR. 1981
108 Hs hassium named after the Latin form of the name of Hessen, the German Bundesland where this work was performed 1984
109 Mt meitnerium named after Lise Meitner, an Austrian physicist who was one of the earliest scientists to study nuclear fission 1982
110 Ds darmstadtium

named after Darmstadt, Germany, the city in which this work was performed.

 1994
111 Rg roentgenium named after Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, discoverer of X-rays 1994
112 Cn copernicium named after astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus 1996

2000 onwards

The Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna, Russia, led principally by Y. Oganessian, in collaboration with several other laboratories including the Lawrence Livermore Nation al Laboratory (LLNL), since 2000:

113 Nh nihonium nihonium is derived from "Nippon" - a Japanese word for Japan 2003
114 Fl flerovium named after Soviet physicist Georgy Flyorov, founder of the JINR 1999
115 Mc moscovium moscovium honours the Russian capital city, Moscow. 2003
116 Lv livermorium named after the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a collaborator with JINR in the discovery 2000
117 Ts tennessine Tennessine is named after the state of Tennessee, known for its pioneering research in chemistry. "Tennessine is in recognition of the contribution of the Tennessee region, including Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, to superheavy element research," 2010
118 Og oganesson Oganesson is named after 83-year-old Russian physicist Yuri Oganessian - this is only the second time a new element has been named for a living scientist. 2002