The scientist who developed the nuclear model of the atom was Ernest Rutherford. In 1911, through a famous experiment known as the gold foil experiment, Rutherford discovered that atoms have a small, dense nucleus that contains positively charged protons, while the majority of the atom is made up of empty space surrounding this nucleus.
This was a significant shift from the previous plum pudding model proposed by J.J. Thomson, which suggested that atoms were homogeneous blobs of positive charge with negatively charged electrons scattered throughout. Rutherford’s findings laid the foundation for modern atomic theory and significantly advanced the understanding of atomic structure.