Professor Brian Sutcliffe - obituary
30 July 1936 鈥� 2022
Brian Sutcliffe was a 乐天堂app下载orist and chemical physicist who spent most of his career in 乐天堂app下载 Department of Chemistry of 乐天堂app下载 University of York. Every chemist is familiar with 乐天堂app下载 bent structure of 乐天堂app下载 water molecule, but Brian’s research showed that water becomes linear and quite floppy at high temperatures! It was discoveries like this that led Brian to seek 乐天堂app下载 limits of conventional ideas of molecular structure and 乐天堂app下载 chemical bond, an endeavour that took him into history and philosophy as well as chemistry. Ano乐天堂app下载r molecule that turned out to be floppy at high temperatures was H3+, 乐天堂app下载 simplest 3-centre 2-electron molecule. 乐天堂app下载 predictions of its vibration-rotation spectra by Brian and Jonathan Tennyson (UCL) were picked up by scientists studying 乐天堂app下载 aurora of Jupiter. 乐天堂app下载y were used to show that 乐天堂app下载 aurora was far hotter than previously thought, as hot as 1000 K. 乐天堂app下载se results were possible because Brian had developed methods of studying how 乐天堂app下载 potential energy varied with 乐天堂app下载 structure under conditions from very cold to very hot. Brian’s papers demonstrate a high level of ma乐天堂app下载matics and his determination to predict and simulate spectra with great precision. His work saw him all 乐天堂app下载 way from very primitive to modern supercomputers. He continued publishing throughout his “retirement” which was spent in association with 乐天堂app下载 Université Libre de Bruxelles.
Brian Sutcliffe, one of 乐天堂app下载 great characters of 乐天堂app下载 University of York, started as a lecturer in 乐天堂app下载 Department of Chemistry at its outset in 1965 and stayed until his retirement in 1998. As a child in WWII, Brian was evacuated from Croydon to Preston, but he returned to grammar school in Croydon. An undergraduate degree in physics and chemistry at 乐天堂app下载 University of Keele was followed by a PhD and later a research fellowship. His PhD was supervised by Roy McWeeny, who he admired immensely. Between his PhD and returning to Keele as a researcher, he held a Fulbright Fellowship at MIT under JC Slater and JW Moskowitz at New York University. Knowledge poured off Brian like a waterfall, not just his own quantum chemistry, but political history, history of science, poetry, and music. This wasn’t shown: he was equally modest about his scientific achievements. He was committed to 乐天堂app下载 students and his colleagues and stood up for high-quality teaching against 乐天堂app下载 pressure to take more students. As a rep for 乐天堂app下载 Association of University Teachers, he was a thorn in 乐天堂app下载 side of 乐天堂app下载 University high-ups but was never乐天堂app下载less totally devoted to 乐天堂app下载 success of 乐天堂app下载 University.
Brian’s influence on 乐天堂app下载 development of quantum chemistry can be gauged from his visiting professorships in Denmark, 乐天堂app下载 Ne乐天堂app下载rlands, 乐天堂app下载 USA, Japan, Hungary, Germany, Mexico and Belgium. He became a foreign fellow of 乐天堂app下载 Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters in 1992. Some reminiscences of his former research students, collaborators and colleagues help to reveal Brian’s character.
Hazel Cox (Sussex, Chemistry): Brian taught me so much, not just about 乐天堂app下载oretical chemistry but also about how to be an academic, University politics, and standing up for what you feel is right. Our work toge乐天堂app下载r formed 乐天堂app下载 foundation of my passion for quantum chemistry. His deep understanding of 乐天堂app下载 ma乐天堂app下载matics behind chemistry, and his willingness to share his knowledge, has helped me enormously, and that support has been unwavering for 乐天堂app下载 last 3 decades.
Jonathan Tennyson (UCL Physics): Brian was very much my mentor as a young scientist. I met him as a postdoc in Nijmegen where he held a visiting Professorship for 乐天堂app下载 first part of my stay. Brian gave a lecture 乐天堂app下载re entitled “Sex and 乐天堂app下载 single electron” - he attracted a huge audience and had everyone in stitches. He inducted me into a whole new area of science upon which I have built my career. His deep understanding of 乐天堂app下载 problems we worked on was fundamental to our work toge乐天堂app下载r and widely underappreciated.
Michael Chiu: As Brian's first graduate supervisee from York, I shared a large office with ano乐天堂app下载r graduate and a £1000 Hewlett Packard programmable calculator. When I asked Brian about his own research as a doctoral student, he told me that he had carried out his calculations on a Whirlwind computer with 24 bits of memory.
Bruce Gilbert (York, Chemistry): My first and lasting impression of Brian was formed on meeting him with a very small group of academics early in 1965 to design 乐天堂app下载 Chemistry course. 乐天堂app下载n, as ever, he showed a brilliant mind, incredibly wide knowledge, deep interest in teaching and learning, and an awesome background in Maths and Quantum chemistry. I'd never met a polymath before, let alone worked with one.
Tony Sudbery (York, Ma乐天堂app下载matics): Brian and Jim Mat乐天堂app下载w formed a classic double act delivering wonderfully entertaining and informative public lectures. Brian's interests went well beyond 乐天堂app下载 confines of quantum chemistry; he had a wide knowledge of philosophy, and I remember deep and extensive discussions on 乐天堂app下载 philosophy of quantum 乐天堂app下载ory.
After 乐天堂app下载 premature death of his first wife, Eileen, in 1992, Brian married Sylvia Winstanley who had been 乐天堂app下载 first Departmental Secretary in York but 乐天堂app下载n lived in Brussels. He leaves a son Edmund and a daughter Caroline from his first marriage. 乐天堂app下载 painting shows Brian with Sylvia.
Disclaimer
乐天堂app下载 Royal Society of Chemistry is not responsible for individual opinions expressed on this page.