John Pethica facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Pethica
FRS FREng
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|---|---|
| Chief Scientific Adviser, National Physical Laboratory | |
| In office 2007–2017 |
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| SFI Research Professor and Professor of Physics, Trinity College, Dublin | |
| In office 2001–2018 |
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| Professor of Materials Science, University of Oxford | |
| In office 1996–2001 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
John Bernard Pethica
1953 (age 71–72) |
| Died | Error: Need valid death date (first date): year, month, day |
Sir John Bernard Pethica (born in 1953) is a famous British scientist. He is a chemist and a professor of material science. He has worked at Trinity College, Dublin in Ireland and was a top science advisor at the UK's National Physical Laboratory. He also taught at Oxford University.
Sir John is best known for his important work in developing special tools. These tools include nanoindentation, which measures how hard tiny materials are. He also helped create atomic force microscopy, which lets scientists see individual atoms!
Contents
Early Life and Education
John Pethica went to school at St Ambrose College in Manchester, England. He then studied at the University of Cambridge. He earned his first degree there. Later, in the late 1970s, he also received his PhD in Physics from Cambridge.
Sir John's Career Journey
Sir John Pethica started his career in Switzerland. He worked as a scientist at a company called Brown, Boveri & Cie from 1980 to 1982. After that, he returned to the University of Cambridge. He was a Fellow there from 1983 to 1987.
In 1996, he became a lecturer at University of Oxford. He later became a Professor of Materials Science at Oxford.
Research and Nanotechnology
In 2001, Sir John received a special award. It was an S.F.I. (Science Foundation Ireland) principal investigator award. This award helped him move his research from Oxford to Dublin. He became an SFI Research Professor at Trinity College Dublin.
In 2005, Sir John was chosen to lead the Naughton Institute. This institute is home to CRANN. CRANN is a special center for nanotechnology research. Nanotechnology is about working with incredibly tiny materials, even smaller than a speck of dust!
Leading Science at NPL
In October 2007, Sir John took on a very important role. He became the Chief Scientific Advisor at the UK's National Physical Laboratory (NPL). NPL is the UK's main center for measurement science. He held this position until 2017.
Awards and Special Honours
Sir John Pethica has received many important awards and honours. In 1999, he became a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS). This is a very high honour for scientists in the UK. He also served as a Vice-President of the Royal Society.
In 2013, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng). This shows his important contributions to engineering. He also became an honorary fellow at Trinity College Dublin in 2011. In 2014, he received the same honour from St Cross College, Oxford.
He won the Rosenhain Medal & Prize in 1997. In 2001, he received the Hughes Medal from the Royal Society. The next year, in 2002, he was given the Holweck Prize. These awards recognize his excellent scientific work.
In 2014, Sir John was made a knight. This means he can use "Sir" before his name. He received this honour for his great contributions to science.
Hobbies and Interests
Outside of science, Sir John Pethica is a talented musician. He plays the violin and other instruments. He especially enjoys Irish and British folk music.
More Information
- Sir John Pethica's page at Oxford University
- Sir John Pethica's page at CRANN
- Information about the Chief Scientific Advisor role at NPL
