Welsh Government | First Minister presented with the purest gold on earth ahead of retirement

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First Minister presented with the purest gold on earth ahead of retirement

The Manufacturing Engineering Centre (MEC) at Cardiff University has presented the First Minister, Rhodri Morgan, with a unique plaque inscribed using Lasers and an Atomic Force Microscope to commemorate his retirement.

Monday 23 November 2009

First Minister with Prof Derek Jones CB, Prof D T Pham OBE and Frank Marsh from the Manufacturing Engineer Centre at Cardiff University.

Prof Derek Jones CB, Prof D T Pham OBE and Frank Marsh thanked the First Minister for his great enthusiasm for advances in engineering and for the support of his government to the University, especially to the MEC.

The plaque is inscribed with a tiny Haiku which was written by Kim Pham, it was then finished in gold using a Sputtering machine. The thickness of the gold is 110 nanometers. It is approximately 99.9% and represents the purest sample of gold on Earth

Much of this equipment used to make the plaque is available in Wales due to support from the Welsh Assembly Government.

November 23 2009