Alec Broers, Baron Broers facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
The Lord Broers
FRS FMedSci FREng
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| Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge |
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| In office 1996–2003 |
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| Chancellor | The Duke of Edinburgh |
| Preceded by | David Glyndwr Tudor Williams |
| Succeeded by | Alison Richard |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 17 September 1938 Calcutta, British Raj |
| Alma mater | Geelong Grammar School Melbourne University University of Cambridge |
| 4th Master of Churchill College, Cambridge | |
| In office 1990–1996 |
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| Preceded by | Sir Hermann Bondi |
| Succeeded by | Sir John Boyd |
Alec Nigel Broers, Baron Broers (born 17 September 1938) is a famous British electrical engineer. He is known for his important work in tiny technologies. In 1994, he became an international member of the National Academy of Engineering. This was because of his amazing work with electron beams and microscopes. He also led the way in making very small electronic parts.
Contents
Early Life and School Days
Alec Broers was born in Calcutta, India. When he was young, he went to school in Australia at Geelong Grammar School. He then studied at Melbourne University. Later, he moved to England and continued his studies at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge.
Alec Broers' Career Journey
After finishing his studies, Alec Broers worked for IBM in the United States. He spent 19 years there, doing research and development.
Returning to Cambridge
In 1984, he came back to Cambridge. He became a Professor of Electrical Engineering, teaching until 1996. He also became a Fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge. Lord Broers is a true pioneer in the field of nanotechnology. This is about creating and working with incredibly tiny things.
Leadership Roles at Cambridge
From 1990 to 1996, he was the Master of Churchill College, Cambridge. He also led the Cambridge University Engineering Department from 1993 to 1996. His biggest role at Cambridge was being the Vice-Chancellor from 1996 to 2003. This is like being the head of the entire university.
Honours and Public Service
In 1998, he was made a Knight for his services to education. This means he was given the title "Sir." In 2004, he became a life peer, which means he joined the House of Lords. He was then known as Baron Broers. From 2004 to 2007, Lord Broers led the Science and Technology Committee in the House of Lords. He was also the President of the Royal Academy of Engineering from 2001 to 2006.
In September 2008, Lord Broers became the chairman of the Diamond Light Source. This is the United Kingdom's largest new scientific facility in 45 years.
Awards and Special Recognitions
Lord Broers has received many awards and special honours. He has over twenty honorary degrees from universities and colleges. He is also a member of important academies around the world. These include the US National Academy of Engineering and the Chinese Academy of Engineering. He became a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 1985. In 1986, he was elected to the Royal Society. He also won the Prince Philip Medal in 2001.
Key Moments in His Career
- 1938 Born on September 17 in Calcutta, India.
- 1941 Moved to Sydney, Australia.
- 1944 Moved to Purley, Surrey, UK.
- 1948 Moved to Melbourne, Australia, and attended Geelong Grammar School.
- 1959 Earned his BSc degree in physics from Melbourne University.
- 1962 Received his BA degree in electrical sciences from the University of Cambridge.
- 1965 Completed his PhD degree at the University of Cambridge.
- 1965 Started as a researcher at IBM USA.
- 1977 Named an IBM Fellow by IBM's CEO.
- 1984 Returned to the University of Cambridge as a Professor.
- 1990 Became Master of Churchill College.
- 1992 Became Head of the Cambridge University Engineering Department.
- 1994 Became an international member of the National Academy of Engineering.
- 1996 Became Vice Chancellor of the University of Cambridge.
- 1998 Was made a Knight for his work in education.
- 1998 Co-founded the Cambridge Network.
- 2001 Became President of The Royal Academy of Engineering.
- 2004 Was granted a Life Peerage, becoming Lord Broers.
- 2004 Became Chairman of the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee.
- 2005 Presented the Reith Lectures for the BBC.
- 2008 Became Chairman of Diamond Light Source Ltd.
- 2009 Became Chairman of Bio Nano Consulting.
- 2010 Became Chairman of the Technology Strategy Board Knowledge Transfer Network for Transport.
- 2012-2015 Chaired the judging panel for the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering.
- 2021 Became President of the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee.
His Amazing Research Work
Alec Broers started his research at the University of Cambridge in 1961. He worked on studying surfaces using a special microscope called a scanning electron microscope (SEM). He made the microscope even better, improving its ability to see tiny details. He was the first to use the microscope's electron beam to draw patterns. He then used a process called ion etching to create tiny structures. These structures were as small as 40 nanometers. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter! These were the first human-made nanostructures. They opened the door for making electronic circuits incredibly small.
Working at IBM
After Cambridge, Lord Broers spent almost 20 years doing research at IBM in the United States. He worked on finding a long-lasting electron source for electron microscopes. He developed the first practical electron guns using a material called LaB6. These not only lasted longer but also made the microscopes see even clearer.
He built new SEMs that could see details as small as 0.5 nanometers. He used these microscopes to study tiny things like bacteria and blood cells. But most of his work was about using the microscopes to "scribe" or draw very small patterns. He and his team used these methods to make the first silicon transistors with micron-sized parts. This showed that electronic devices could be made much smaller than people thought possible.
Lord Broers loved his research at IBM. He said he turned his hobby into his career. He spent his time building new things and testing them. In 1977, he was given the special title of an IBM Fellow. This honour was given to only about 40 out of IBM's 40,000 engineers and scientists. This gave him the freedom to explore any research he wanted. He kept pushing the limits of making tiny components.
Pioneering Nanofabrication
He discovered that electrons bouncing back from a sample could make images blurry. To fix this, he and his colleague invented a very thin membrane. This membrane helped to get rid of the blurry effect. These membranes allowed them to create the first metal structures smaller than 10 nanometers. Because these were so tiny, they started calling them "nanostructures" and the process "nanofabrication." This was different from the "micro" prefix used before.
When he returned to Cambridge, Lord Broers set up a special lab for nanofabrication. He wanted to make things even smaller, down to the atomic scale. He changed a powerful microscope to create a beam as small as 0.3 nanometers. Working with other researchers, he used this system to build some of the smallest and fastest transistors ever made.
He has written about his research on nanolithography and electron microscopy in a book called "Advances in Imaging and Electron Physics."
More Information
- The Reith lectures, 2005 given by Lord Broers.
- Interview with Lord Broers, Ingenia Magazine, March 2005.
- Profile of Lord Broers.
- Lord Broers on the triumph of technology, March 2005.
