Royal Society honour for York scientist
Posted on 20 May 2011
Professor John Goodby, of the University’s Department of Chemistry, is among 44 new Fellows announced by the Royal Society today.
We are thrilled with this well-deserved honour for John Goodby and his research team
Professor Richard Taylor, Head of the Department of Chemistry
Election to the Fellowship of the Royal Society is recognised worldwide as a sign of the highest regard in science. Candidates must be proposed by at least two existing Fellows and are assessed by Sectional Committees in each major field of science
Professor Goodby’s research focuses on the use of liquid crystals in a range of high technology applications, including large area flat panel displays, microdisplays, sensors, imaging devices, biomedical materials, surface coatings, and smart adhesives.
He said: “All manner of emotions and thoughts went through my mind when I heard this news – family and friends foremost, but also the support and deep friendships with my ‘Liquid Crystal’ colleagues in the UK and around the rest of the world.
“You can't reach for the sky without brilliant and innovative research students and post-doctoral research fellows, and inspirational academic, industrial and management friends. I am indebted to them and hope that they too will share in the pleasure of this award.”
The Head of the Department of Chemistry at York, Professor Richard Taylor added: “We are thrilled with this well-deserved honour for John Goodby and his research team. After the award of two Fellowships of the Royal Society to this Department last year in Gideon Davies and Robin Perutz, the FRS for John provides further evidence of the strength and vigour of chemistry research at York.”
John Goodby has a BSc and a PhD from the University of Hull. He spent nine years with AT&T Bell Laboratories in the USA before returning to the University of Hull in 1988 as Head of the Liquid Crystal Group and subsequently Head of the Chemistry Department. In 1988 he received his second doctorate (DSc) from Hull for research into the Properties of Ordered Fluids, and he joined the University of York in 2005.
In 1994 John Goodby was the Amersham Senior Fellow of the Royal Society, in 1996 he received the GW Gray Medal of the British Liquid Crystals Society, in 2002 the Tilden Medal of the Royal Society of Chemistry and its Interdisciplinary Science Award five years later. He is an Honored Member of the International Liquid Crystal Society, and has an Honorary Doctorate in Science from Trinity College Dublin.
Professor Goodby has also been President and Vice President of the International Liquid Crystal Society and Chair of the British Liquid Crystal Society. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, a Fellow of the Royal Microscopical Society, and a Fellow of the World Technology Network.
Notes to editors:
- The Royal Society’s citation reads: Over three decades, John Goodby has become pre-eminent in territories involving physics, chemistry and biology through his elegant studies of the processes of molecular aggregation/disaggregation. He is distinguished internationally as a materials scientist focussing on liquid crystals, complex fluids and self-organising systems. He developed the now standard classification of smectic liquid crystals and discovered several new states of matter, one of which, the TGB phase, as noted by Nobel Laureate de Gennes, unifies liquid crystal phase transition phenomena with superconductors. Goodby's materials are now exploited by three spin-off companies, and additionally one discotic liquid crystal is widely used as a basis in computer screens and televisions.
- The Royal Society is the UK’s national academy of science. Founded in 1660, the Society has three roles, as a provider of independent scientific advice, as a learned Society, and as a funding agency. Its expertise is embodied in the Fellowship, which is made up of the finest scientists from the UK and beyond. For further information please visit royalsociety.org. Follow the Royal Society on Twitter at twitter.com/royalsociety or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/theroyalsociety.
- Professor Gideon Davies and Professor Robin Perutz, of York’s Department of Chemistry, were elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society in 2010.
- More about the Department of Chemistry at York at www.york.ac.uk/chemistry/.
Contact details
Keep up to date
Subscribe to news feeds
