Peter LeComber facts for kids
Peter George Le Comber (born February 19, 1941 – died September 9, 1992) was a brilliant British scientist. He was a physicist who studied how solid materials behave. He helped create things we use every day, like flat-screen TVs and solar panels. He even had ten inventions patented! Peter worked closely with another scientist, Walter Eric Spear. Together, they developed a special material called Amorphous silicon. This material was key to making solar panels work.
Peter Le Comber's Life
Peter was born in Ilford, Essex, England, on February 19, 1941. His father was away serving in the army during the Second World War when Peter was very young. Peter went to Becontree Heath Primary School. He won a scholarship at age eleven, which helped him study at South East Essex Technical College.
Later, he went to Leicester University. He earned his first degree in 1962 and then continued his studies for a Ph.D. From 1965 to 1967, he did research at Purdue University in Indiana, USA. In 1967, he returned to Leicester University to teach physics.
Important Discoveries
Peter met Walter Eric Spear while working in Leicester. In 1969, they both moved to the Carnegie Laboratory of Physics at Dundee University. Their goal was to start studying non-crystalline solids. These are materials that don't have a regular, repeating structure, like glass or some plastics.
Their work on Amorphous silicon was very important. This material is a special type of silicon that doesn't have a perfect crystal structure. Peter and Walter found ways to control its properties, which made it useful for many things. This led to big steps forward in making solar cells and flat-screen displays.
Awards and Recognition
Peter Le Comber received several important awards for his scientific work. In 1984, he was given the Duddell Medal. This medal is awarded for excellence in physics. Also in 1984, he was chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. This is a group of top scientists in Scotland.
In 1992, just before he passed away, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London. Being a Fellow of the Royal Society is one of the highest honors a scientist can receive in the United Kingdom.
In 1986, Dundee University created a special teaching position just for him. It was called a personal chair in Solid State Physics. This showed how important his work was to the university. His research helped Dundee University become a key place for developing semiconductors. Semiconductors are materials that can conduct electricity under certain conditions, and they are used in almost all electronic devices.
Later Years
Peter Le Comber passed away on September 9, 1992. He had a heart attack while on a trip to Switzerland. He was celebrating his thirtieth wedding anniversary with his wife, Joy Smith, whom he married around 1963. His close friend and research partner, Walter Eric Spear, wrote a tribute about him. Peter's sudden death greatly affected Spear's own research career.
