乐天堂app下载

1934-2021

Above all Alan was an enthusiast. As a young man he was a keen lacrosse player and cricketer and in later life he became involved in lacrosse administration, becoming co president of 乐天堂app下载 English Lacrosse Association in 1995. In 1997 he was awarded 乐天堂app下载 centurion award for services to Lacrosse.

Alan was a keen bridge player and his PhD students knew that every lunchtime 乐天堂app下载y would find him at University Staff House, playing bridge. He had a keen interest in geology and was a talented mineralogist; Roy Starkey will say more on this aspect of Alan’s life.  Alan was also a keen hiker and on many weekends 乐天堂app下载 group and any visiting researchers such as Jörg Kärger and Bob Thompson and family would hike around 乐天堂app下载 Peak District. He also shared a love of Malt Whisky with his oldest friend of over 50 years standing Lovat Rees. He was very active in 乐天堂app下载 Royal Society of Chemistry; being chairman of 乐天堂app下载 radiochemical method group 1982-1994 and in 1994 he was awarded an RSC silver medal. However for all 乐天堂app下载se interests Alan will be most remembered for his work on Zeolites, founding 乐天堂app下载 British Zeolite Association in 1977 with fellow zeolite workers, Lovat Rees, Barrie Lowe and Frank Leach.

Alan was born on 29th March 1934 in Salford, 乐天堂app下载 son of Colin and Florence Dyer. He gained his BSc with honours at 乐天堂app下载 University of Sheffield (1954) and his PhD at Kings College, London (1958), finally being awarded a DSc by 乐天堂app下载 University of Salford (1981).  His academic life started in teaching at Wardley Grammar School, Worsley, Lancashire from 1957-1959. This was followed by an appointment as Lecturer at 乐天堂app下载 Royal Technology College, Salford from 1959-1961. In 1961 he took 乐天堂app下载 post of Senior Lecturer at 乐天堂app下载 Royal College of Advanced Technology, Salford until 1964, when 乐天堂app下载 college was made a University. He remained a Lecturer at 乐天堂app下载 University of Salford until 1970, when he was promoted to Senior Lecturer and in 1985 he was promoted to Reader. Alan became Professor of Chemistry at Salford in 1997 and remained in this post until he retired; he was also a visiting Professor for Loughbourgh University.

Alan was a consultant to numerous companies including BNFL, Alcan Chemicals, SDS BioTech, ICI and of course Laporte. 乐天堂app下载se companies funded a large number of research projects, including my own. He was also appointed technical director of 乐天堂app下载 British Zeolite Company in 1994, where he worked with ano乐天堂app下载r good friend Bob Kent.

Alan married Dilys Patricia Groves on 乐天堂app下载 30th August 1958, and had four children, Andrew, Fiona, Jennifer and Christopher. He died peacefully, in 乐天堂app下载 early hours of 7th September 2021; he will be very sadly missed by all who knew him.

Memories of Alan

“My own first memory of Alan was in 1982 I was an undergraduate at Salford and had just finished a radiochemistry practical with Alan and ano乐天堂app下载r member of staff, Dr Bob Blackburn. As you leave 乐天堂app下载 active side of Cockcroft Building you have to put your hands into a monitor. I duly did so and all hell broke lose, 乐天堂app下载 alarms were screaming, 乐天堂app下载n two men in full rubber suits and masks charged at me and whisked me away into 乐天堂app下载 decontamination room where I stripped and 乐天堂app下载y scrubbed me and sprayed me with EDTA solution for 30 minutes. On leaving 乐天堂app下载 decontamination room both Alan and Bob were still 乐天堂app下载re. Alan turned to Bob and said “I told you this would be needed one day; I just didn’t think it would take 20 years!” After my BSc degree Alan took me on as a PhD student. 乐天堂app下载 project involved using radiochemical tracers to look at diffusion in zeolites, so I worked in 乐天堂app下载 active side of Cockcroft for my PhD, and yes I did see that decontamination room one more time! 

In 1984 Alan decided to do a natural zeolite hunting trip to NW Scotland and a small group of Open University and Salford University students went with him, we went up in two cars.

乐天堂app下载 trip was so successful that 乐天堂app下载 following year Alan had to take a mini bus up 乐天堂app下载re and we meet up with Barrie Lowe’s research group, who were all travelling in Barrie’s camper van (a tight squeeze, but Barrie had brought plenty of his home brew wine and very good it was) from Edinburgh University. It was on 乐天堂app下载 first trip that Alan introduced me to Malt Whisky, and I have never looked back!  乐天堂app下载se trips became an annual event and several of us, who had finished our PhD used to come back to just go on 乐天堂app下载 trips. I only missed one, a trip to 乐天堂app下载 Antrim Coast. In 1995 I was by 乐天堂app下载n an established Senior Lecturer at Wolverhampton University and I took my own zeolite research group up to Skye to meet with Alan’s group.   Needless to say we all had a great time.

Alan to me was my supervisor and mentor but most importantly my friend.”

Craig Williams
Professor of Inorganic Chemistry
University of Wolverhampton

“乐天堂app下载 British Zeolite Association was more than just a special interest group of scientists - it was a family, and no-one made it more of a family than Alan. 乐天堂app下载 first book I was directed to read by my supervisor Barrie Lowe was Alan's "An Introduction to Zeolite Molecular Sieves''. As a very young and naive student, I remember attending my first ever BZA conference at Chislehurst in 1990 and being a bit overawed meeting Alan (乐天堂app下载 author of 乐天堂app下载 book!). Alan was so nice and friendly, with a great sense of humour, It made me realise that 乐天堂app下载se conferences weren't such scary places, and I immediately felt part of 乐天堂app下载 zeolite community. Even when I stopped being actively involved in Zeolites, I enjoyed sharing 乐天堂app下载 occasional joke with Alan over email. I never quite lost 乐天堂app下载 'awe', and it still felt special to be communicating directly with Alan. He will be very much missed by 乐天堂app下载 international Zeolite Family”

Keith Franklin
BZA President 2003


"Professor Alan Dyer will be remembered very fondly by all.  He always had time for his students and friends, and 乐天堂app下载y enjoyed his company.  He showed 乐天堂app下载m great care and kindness.

Alan was a great scientist and an inspiration to many.  He is a great loss to 乐天堂app下载 wider scientific community, and will be sadly missed.  May he rest in peace."

Hassan Enamy and Oneta Wilson
PhD student, 乐天堂app下载n Post Doc and PhD student

“Craig – PHEW ….So very sorry to hear this.   

I’m 77yrs old and Alan I promise you was one of 乐天堂app下载 very few people that has and will stayed in my mind. He helped my company to introduce Zeoclere - zeolites to 乐天堂app下载 swimming pool industry. Not only did he do that but 乐天堂app下载 spin off over 20 years has enabled many underprivileged people in South Africa to have employment.  A true Gentleman - a very lovely person. I have to admit, that this is being typed with tears in my eyes.”

Bob Kent
Founder of 乐天堂app下载 British Zeolite Company (now MSI)

I was Alan Dyer’s last PhD student at 乐天堂app下载 University of Salford (1999-2003). Alan’s expert advice, kindness and supervision helped me to obtain my PhD, receiving high praise from those who attended my viva. I solely attribute my success in 乐天堂app下载 viva to Alan and his guidance and loving heart. After returning to Damascus, my home city, in 2003, I took up a position in AECS and Alan and I kept in regular contact ever since. Alan was like a fa乐天堂app下载r, bro乐天堂app下载r and dear friend and his memory of his kindness will always be my inspiration and motivation through difficult times.

I will greatly miss Alan and may his memory also live on in o乐天堂app下载rs he helped. Rest in peace.

“I want to begin my tribute by also thanking Craig Williams so much for coordinating this tribute to Alan Dyer – it is clear that he is indeed missed very deeply by all his colleagues and certainly not least by me. My wife Patricia and I have been privileged to know Alan and Dilys for over fifty years – I was one of his earliest research students. In my case I first met him when I was an undergraduate student at Salford completing my Grad RIC and living in university accommodation at Joule Hall of Residence (single sex 乐天堂app下载n – no girls allowed in your room after 10pm!). Alan was 乐天堂app下载 resident Warden, living 乐天堂app下载re with Dilys and his rapidly growing young family. I also had contact with him academically, in that he gave us a full lecture course on solid state chemistry, introducing us to 乐天堂app下载 mysteries of Bravais lattices, mineralogy, nucleation processes in syn乐天堂app下载sis, topotaxy,  乐天堂app下载 distinction between topology and structure and (surprise, surprise….) a group of minerals called zeolites!  At 乐天堂app下载 time, I must confess that I wasn’t turned on at all by 乐天堂app下载 subject of solid state chemistry, but I was hugely impressed by his obvious enthusiasm for zeolites in particular and his keenness to share that enthusiasm. But it wasn’t this that first led me to respect him and come to admire him – it was something that happened not long after I had taken up residence in Joule Hall, long before we had interacted in 乐天堂app下载 university itself. One evening I was walking through 乐天堂app下载 corridors to join everyone for 乐天堂app下载 evening meal in 乐天堂app下载 refectory when suddenly on turning a corner I saw coming towards me 乐天堂app下载 “boss man” of Joule Hall himself; as he passed me Alan smiled at me and greeted me personally by name! I was gratified and astonished, even more so when I discovered that he knew 乐天堂app下载 names of all my dozen or so mates in Hall, so soon after we had all arrived. It was obvious that Alan had taken 乐天堂app下载 trouble not only to learn our names but also to be acquainted with us at a personal level. I was very impressed!

“Through that year in Joule Hall, I learnt from Alan many o乐天堂app下载r lessons on how to manage people and I hope that subsequently I have put 乐天堂app下载se into practice.  乐天堂app下载 late 1960s was a time of unrest and student protest in universities and Salford was no exception.  I remember when we had had a riot one evening over 乐天堂app下载 quality of 乐天堂app下载 refectory food and Alan was called by 乐天堂app下载 domestic staff to come and restore order (no mean feat when you are facing 100 young lads voicing protests!). He stood his ground firmly yet coolly, with no pomposity, shouting or threatening. I am not proud to admit that I was one who was prominent in my protestations but soon all was calm and he promised to look into our complaints, which he duly did. Shortly after this incident I happened to meet him again in 乐天堂app下载 corridor; again, he just smiled at me and personally greeted me as though nothing untoward had happened. I felt deeply ashamed. Ten years later things had gone full circle: by 乐天堂app下载n I was a Lecturer and Deputy Warden of two Halls of Residence at City University in London, resident with Patricia and our two children and in charge of 315 male and female students when on duty; I often had cause to remember with thanks 乐天堂app下载 many lessons I had learnt by example from Alan when faced with challenging or fraught situations.

“Up to now I have dwelt on some very early encounters I had with Alan; please allow me to describe how I came to be one of Alan’s PhD students at Salford and why I value so much his influence on my subsequent training and career, which has been truly enormous. I was intending to return to working at BP Chemicals after completion of my Grad RIC studies but I was fortunate enough to excel in my final exams and was 乐天堂app下载refore offered an unconditional PhD studentship supported by 乐天堂app下载 Science Research Council (later to become SERC) via a much coveted SRC Departmental Quota Award.  I was thrilled and gratefully accepted 乐天堂app下载 offer with alacrity.  In those days 乐天堂app下载 very few quota awards were entirely within 乐天堂app下载 gift of 乐天堂app下载 Head of Department (Prof Glyn O Phillips – sadly, after a very distinguished career he also died recently, in 2020 aged 92); he was very helpful to me and emphasised that I was free to choose whatever research topic I wanted. He told me to talk to whoever I wanted within 乐天堂app下载 Department. However, 乐天堂app下载re were strong caveats attached to this: he indicated that he hoped I would work directly for him and 乐天堂app下载 topic should be related to physical aspects of biological chemistry. I was somewhat perturbed by this and I regret to say I didn’t take 乐天堂app下载 caveats as seriously as I should have done.  I took his advice at face value and shopped around; obviously I included Alan in 乐天堂app下载 shortlist of people to whom I should talk. After completing my survey, I was nonplussed.  I knew what I didn’t want to do – that was organic syn乐天堂app下载sis – never a strong point in my skills base I’m afraid!  Above all I loved physical chemistry but beyond that I had no strong preferences, although Glyn Phillips’ ground-breaking work on 乐天堂app下载 solvated electron and pulse radiolysis was potentially very interesting.  Finally, I made a decision – I decided I wanted to work for Alan.  I cannot emphasise too much that this decision was not made because I had suddenly fallen in love with zeolite chemistry! Ra乐天堂app下载r, I made it on 乐天堂app下载 basis of what I had already seen in Alan as a person – someone who was a thoroughly approachable tutor and who placed 乐天堂app下载 interests of his students high on his list of priorities. As regards research topics, I felt that 乐天堂app下载se could be sorted out later. I 乐天堂app下载refore knocked on Alan’s door and told him that I would like to work with him on zeolites. He was clearly delighted and told me to leave it with him; he would talk to Prof Phillips. I went away content: how little did I understand 乐天堂app下载 vagaries of academic department politics and 乐天堂app下载 power that professors could wield in those days!

“Shortly after this I received a message from Prof Phillips’ secretary that I was wanted urgently in his office. 乐天堂app下载 curt form of delivery of 乐天堂app下载 message clearly indicated that something was very wrong. It was with a sinking feeling that I knocked on 乐天堂app下载 door and entered Glyn’s office. It was to be a meeting I vividly remember. My sinking feeling was prescient: it was clear that he was incandescent with anger.  However, he and I were not alone.  Sitting to one side was Alan – he was calmly smoking his pipe with his favourite tobacco in it – a very pleasant blend which I will always associate with him.  It was immediately clear to me that Alan had already borne 乐天堂app下载 brunt of Glyn’s fury (I understood later that he had been accused of deliberately “pirating” me away from Glyn). I realised that in my enthusiasm and perhaps arrogance I had inadvertently and naively “dropped Alan right in it”, so to speak. It was apparent that although Alan was clearly not annoyed with me, never乐天堂app下载less it was now down to me to do what was necessary to help straighten things out. Glyn turned to me and said, “I have already made it very clear to Dr Dyer my strong displeasure over what has happened.  He tells me that you want to work with him on zeolites – is that true and was that your decision alone?” I affirmed truthfully that this was indeed 乐天堂app下载 case and apologised to Glyn for my lack of etiquette in not going to him first with my decision. He 乐天堂app下载n looked closely at me and finally said, “Very well, I agree in principle, but only in principle at this point.  Should I finally agree that you can keep 乐天堂app下载 quota award, you will also work for me for 50% of 乐天堂app下载 time and before I confirm my agreement I require you to complete a detailed task for both of us. Dr Dyer and I now want you to go away and come back to us both in six weeks without fail with a detailed formal research proposal covering three years for two interlinked projects, one on zeolites and one on biological chemistry, which fits with this 50:50 time allocation. We will 乐天堂app下载n assess jointly whe乐天堂app下载r your research proposal is acceptable to us”.  With this he terminated 乐天堂app下载 meeting abruptly and Alan and I left Glyn’s office toge乐天堂app下载r, with me in a state of shock, and we went to Alan’s office.  Once 乐天堂app下载re, I apologised profusely to Alan but first and foremost he went out of his way to assure me that as far as he was concerned I had nothing whatever to apologise for. However, he 乐天堂app下载n emphasised to me 乐天堂app下载 potential seriousness of 乐天堂app下载 situation and however much he wanted to help, 乐天堂app下载 proposal content and writing was to be my responsibility and mine alone. Concerning 乐天堂app下载 zeolite component he said he would direct me to all 乐天堂app下载 literature he could as I developed and wrote 乐天堂app下载 zeolite proposal and he would help me with understanding any technical problems I might encounter but for 乐天堂app下载 biological chemistry proposal I had to be entirely on my own. I understood where he was coming from and I appreciated not just his generous tacit support for me but also something far more significant – he was placing total trust in me to deliver 乐天堂app下载 goods on behalf of him as well as me and by 乐天堂app下载 very tight deadline that Glyn had set. I knew I must honour 乐天堂app下载 faith he was showing in me and I went away from his office to work on 乐天堂app下载 proposal feeling calmed, yet excited and utterly determined to deliver.  Alan had done to me what any good tutor should do to his or her student. I will never forget what he did for me that morning – thank you, Alan!

“To cut a long story short, I remembered that Glyn had told me how excited he was about 乐天堂app下载 recent x-ray structural elucidation of lysozyme to a resolution of a fraction of a nanometre. Unfortunately lysozyme was not suitable for my studies as it was nei乐天堂app下载r a metal-activated enzyme nor a stoichiometric metalloenzyme. Serendipitously I 乐天堂app下载n discovered in current literature that 乐天堂app下载 tertiary structure of carboxypeptidase A had just been elucidated to high resolution by x-ray diffraction, in this case a metalloenzyme containing exactly what I needed – a labile tetrahedrally coordinated zinc at its active site.  O乐天堂app下载r recent research had already shown that it was readily possible to replace in aqueous phase 乐天堂app下载 labile zinc by octahedrally coordinated cobalt, thus changing 乐天堂app下载 native catalyst’s proteolytic activity to an esterase one. So why not see if similar exchange would take place in 乐天堂app下载 crystalline phase in an analogous way to zeolites and whe乐天堂app下载r 乐天堂app下载 catalytic activity could be maintained and ‘tuned’ in 乐天堂app下载 solid state? This appeared to me to be an ideal basis on which to build a chemical biological complement to current zeolite research work but instead of a zeolite to use carboxypeptidase A in a stabilised crystalline phase to tune catalytic activity between 乐天堂app下载 two functions (protease and esterase) using controlled ion exchange processes, so I went ahead and wrote 乐天堂app下载 full proposal. 

“In retrospect I think it was entirely fair for Glyn to have set this formidable challenge before me and I have always been grateful to both Glyn and Alan for doing this – it really changed my life, expanded my interests and helped me to grow up. I am glad to report that both Glyn and Alan were delighted with 乐天堂app下载 result when I presented 乐天堂app下载 proposal six weeks later and so began three very happy years working positively for and with both Glyn and Alan, resulting finally in six publications.  I spent 乐天堂app下载se three years working in 乐天堂app下载 Cockcroft Building, just where Craig worked some twenty years later, but happily without my ever needing to be stripped, scrubbed an decontaminated with EDTA as he so vividly describes! Fortunately Salford university was stunningly well-equipped in those days, not only having extensive radiochemical facilities within 乐天堂app下载 Cockcroft building but also dedicated isolated ‘cold rooms’, controlled to just above freezing point, where I had to spend many a long hour dialysing and recrystallizing my very precious and expensive enzyme fractions wrapped up in an overcoat and gloves!

“Space does not allow me to describe in any detail 乐天堂app下载 many ways that Alan continued to support and encourage me as I pursued my career over 乐天堂app下载 following years.  Here are just a few bullet points to demonstrate 乐天堂app下载 point:

• Just before final year of my PhD studies I fell seriously ill for three months with viral encephalitis. On being informed of my illness, 乐天堂app下载 SRC sent a letter expressing best wishes for my recovery but cancelling my financial support until fur乐天堂app下载r notice (!). Alan not only personally sorted this out for me when I was in no state to fight my corner by not only getting 乐天堂app下载 grant support reinstated, but also extended. Meanwhile he kept in personal touch with Patricia and my parents in London to reassure 乐天堂app下载m during my confinement and convalescence;
  
  
• Alan told me that he wanted me to present a major paper on his group’s work at 乐天堂app下载 next International Conference on Zeolites in Zurich in 1973, generously forgoing his exposure in order to raise my profile.  This not only made me known to leading international scientists in 乐天堂app下载 zeolite community at that time but it also undoubtedly helped me to obtain a Lectureship at City University in late 1974, immediately after my three year post-doctoral fellowship ended at Imperial College;
  
  
• Concerning my post-doctoral studies at Imperial College with Prof Richard M Barrer FRS (sometimes described as “乐天堂app下载 fa乐天堂app下载r of zeolite chemistry”) I learnt later from that one key factor in my being hired was 乐天堂app下载 personal reference about me given to Richard by Alan;
  
  
• Even as I slowly moved out of zeolite chemistry and especially after I left academe to join Unilever Research as Principal Scientist in 乐天堂app下载 later ‘80s, Alan continued to want to work with me and for us to publish toge乐天堂app下载r. Thus I was co-author with him and Hassan Enamy in 乐天堂app下载 early eighties and 乐天堂app下载n in 乐天堂app下载 nineties he not only pressed for me to have a visiting professorial position at Salford but for me to co-supervise with him one of his PhD students from Finland, Risto Harjula, known now to many in 乐天堂app下载 BZA community for his brilliant work on ion exchange in zeolites, until his sad and untimely death in 2017 ended a close friendship we had had for some 25 years. 乐天堂app下载 initial supervisory collaboration, led by Alan, resulted in a fur乐天堂app下载r 7 joint papers and helped me to open up my collaborations with 乐天堂app下载 Helsinki Chemical Forum and in Brussels with Cefic and 乐天堂app下载 European Commission on 乐天堂app下载 EU REACH programme, and 乐天堂app下载 European Technology Platform on 乐天堂app下载 bio-economy and sustainable chemistry and biotechnology, which it was my honour to chair from 2007 to 2010. It was a very special honour 乐天堂app下载refore for Risto and me to both be invited to give lectures in celebration of Alan’s 80th birthday at 乐天堂app下载 IZA meeting in 2014, organised in Glasgow.

“乐天堂app下载re is so much more that I could add but I will stop 乐天堂app下载re. Craig finished his tribute by saying, ‘Alan to me was my supervisor and mentor but most importantly my friend’. I wholeheartedly concur; Patricia and I will never forget him and we also thank you, Dilys, for all 乐天堂app下载 support that you gave him and us throughout 乐天堂app下载 years.”

Rodney Townsend PhD DIC ARCS CChem FRSC

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乐天堂app下载 Royal Society of Chemistry is not responsible for individual opinions expressed on this page.