Constitution of the first Scientific Committee (May–June 1912)

An essential condition for the launch of the Institute is the constitution of a first International Scientific Committee. Besides the president Hendrik Lorentz, this Committee includes Marie Curie, Walther Nernst, Marcel Brillouin, Ernest Rutherford, Emil Warburg, Heike Kamerlingh Onnes and Martin Knudsen.

Once the members of the CSI have expressed their support, the Institute can start operating prior to the establishment of the Administrative Committee which requires an agreement with the King, the City and the University. Ernest Solvay suggests 1 May 1912 as the founding date of the new Institute.

So that is how, in 1912, the International Solvay Institute for Physics is called into being for a period of 30 years.

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Brouillon d'une lettre d'Ernest Solvay à Hendrik Lorentz, 4 mai 1912

The founding date of the IIPS (before the creation of the Administrative Committee) is set for 1 May 1912. Statement made by Ernest Solvay regarding his decision not to be involved in the management of the new Institute.

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Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937)

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Lettre d'Émile Tassel au bourgmestre de la Ville de Bruxelles, 16 décembre 1912

Émile Tassel tells Ernest Solvay about Max von Laue’s ‘recent discoveries’. Put forward as one of the speakers of the 1913 Conference, von Laue is later awarded a Nobel Prize.

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Avant-projet de statuts pour l'Institut international de physique Solvay

Draft statutes of the International Solvay Institute for Physics