George Porter, Baron Porter of Luddenham

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George Porter

George Porter, Baron Porter of Luddenham (born December 6, 1920 in Stainforth , South Yorkshire , † August 31, 2002 in Canterbury ) was an English chemist , Nobel Prize winner and politician .

life and work

Porter went to the Thorne Grammar School in Thorne near Doncaster , South Yorkshire (now: Trinity Academy) and then got a scholarship to the University of Leeds , where he received his bachelor's degree in chemistry . He then served in the Royal Naval Reserve | Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve during World War II .

Porter worked under Ronald Norrish as a researcher at the University of Cambridge . He developed a method called flash photolysis to obtain information about short-lived molecules, which was the first evidence of free radicals . He later used this method to study the intricacies of light reactions in photosynthesis , particularly with regard to applications in the hydrogen economy , which he strongly advocated.

From 1953-54 he was Assistant Director of the British Rayon Research Association, where he researched the synthesis of images of colored cellulosic fabrics in sunlight.

Porter became Fullerian Professor of Chemistry and Director of the Royal Institution in 1966 . Under his leadership, the company for Applied Photophysics was set up in the Royal Institution, which manufactured instruments based on research results. In 1967 he and Manfred Eigen , R. Norrish , were awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry “for their investigations into extremely fast chemical reactions triggered by the destruction of the equilibrium by very short energy pulses” . In the same year he accepted a position as visiting professor at University College London .

Awards, prizes and memberships (selection)

He was a member of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina - National Academy of Sciences , the Hungarian Academy of Sciences , the Pontifical Academy of Sciences , the National Academy of Sciences of the United States and the Russian Academy of Sciences .

He was Chancellor of the University of Leicester from 1984 to 1995 .

literature

Web links

Commons : George Porter  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files
Wikiquote: George Porter  - Quotes

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. 2004. doi : 10.1093 / ref: odnb / 77183 .
  2. ↑ David Phillips The Biography of George Porter ( Memento January 17, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (Archived PDF file; 2.63 MB). icpress.co.uk
  3. ↑ a b George Porter - Biography . Nobel Media. Retrieved April 30, 2011.
  4. ^ List of members . In: Yearbook of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences . No. 2002 , 2003, pp. 267 .
  5. ^ Fellows Directory. Biographical Index: Former RSE Fellows 1783–2002. (PDF file) Royal Society of Edinburgh, accessed March 31, 2020 .
  6. ^ Member History: Lord Porter. American Philosophical Society, accessed November 4, 2018 .
  7. ^ Honorary Graduates 1989 to present . In: bath.ac.uk . University of Bath . Retrieved February 18, 2012.
personal data
SURNAME Porter, George, Baron Porter of Luddenham
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English chemist
DATE OF BIRTH December 6, 1920
PLACE OF BIRTH Stainforth , Yorkshire
DATE OF DEATH August 31, 2002
Place of death Canterbury