Whose idea was it?

Dispute over Nobel-winning theory shows how hard it is to trace origins of scientific discoveries

By Carolyn Y. Johnson

Globe Correspondent / March 1, 2005

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ITHACA, N.Y. -- Roald Hoffmann was fixing his bicycle in the garage on the morning of Oct. 19, 1981, when he heard on the radio that he had won the Nobel Prize in chemistry. He ran into the house to call his mother. ''I was lucky," he said. "I got to the phone before it started ringing." (Full article: 2323 words)