Ernest Rutherford was a New Zealand-born physicist known as the father of nuclear physics. He is best known for his discovery of the atomic nucleus through his famous gold foil experiment, which demonstrated that atoms consist of a small, dense center surrounded by orbiting electrons. This groundbreaking work laid the foundation for modern atomic theory. Rutherford received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1908 for his research on radioactivity. He also contributed to the understanding of the structure of the atom and the nature of radioactive decay, influencing future scientists like Niels Bohr and Marie Curie.