Livermore Pays Homage To Element That Put City On The Periodic Table

LIVERMORE (CBS SF) — From Paris to Philly cheesesteak sandwiches, cities are notorious for giving babies, bands and cuisines a place-based name.

But new chemical elements? Only six cities in the world can make that claim to fame with two of them in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Berkelium acquired its named after it was discovered in 1949 at the University of California Berkeley Radiation Lab.

More recently, the city of Livermore got a mention on the periodic table of elements with the discovery of Livermorium. The synthetic super-heavy element was officially accepted in 2011 and recognizes a six year collaboration between Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers and Russian scientists.

On May 30, Livermore will celebrate the first anniversary of Livermorium Day with a program at Mills Square Park that includes a presentation of Alameda County Science and Engineering Fair winners and the unveiling of three Livermorium conceptual artworks.  Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists will also join Mayor John Marchand to answer questions from high school and middle school students in a live online discussion. The public is invited to watch and contribute to the conversation on Twitter by using the #Livermorium hashtag.