Slater

Slater is a surname of English origin derived from the occupation of slate roofing. The name was used for workers who installed and shaped slate tiles and later spread to other English-speaking countries. Today, Slater is a common surname in the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, and other parts of the world, and it appears in various cultural, geographic, and personal contexts.

In science, Slater has several eponymous terms. The Slater determinant is a mathematical construction used to describe the wavefunction of systems of fermions in quantum mechanics. Slater-type orbitals are a class of atomic orbitals used in quantum chemistry, named after John C. Slater. The Slater–Koster method is a semi-empirical approach for calculating electronic structure in solids, developed by Slater and Louis Koster. Slater's rules are heuristic guidelines for estimating atomic shielding constants in atomic spectroscopy and chemistry. These terms reflect John C. Slater's contributions to physics and chemistry.

There are places named Slater as well. In the United States, several towns or communities bear the name Slater, a reflection of its broader use as a place-name in addition to its status as a surname.

As a surname and a place name, Slater embodies its occupational origins and its adoption as a personal and geographic identifier. The term appears in academic, cultural, and professional discourse through individuals who bear the name and through scientific concepts named after John C. Slater.