Brian Evans Conway (January 26, 1927 – July 9, 2005), professor emeritus in the Department of Chemistry at the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottawa ...

, was a world-renowned

electrochemist Electrochemistry is the branch of physical chemistry concerned with the relationship between electrical potential difference, as a measurable and quantitative phenomenon, and identifiable chemical change, with the potential difference as an outco ...

, and had a long and distinguished career at the University of Ottawa that spanned five decades. Conway was born at

Farnborough Farnborough may refer to: Australia * Farnborough, Queensland, a locality in the Shire of Livingstone United Kingdom * Farnborough, Hampshire, a town in the Rushmoor district of Hampshire, England ** Farnborough (Main) railway station, a railw ...

, UK. Prior to his arrival in Canada, he obtained his Ph.D. from

Imperial College Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

in 1949 under the supervision of

John Bockris Bernhardt Patrick John O’Mara Bockris (5 January 1923 – 7 July 2013) was a South African professor of chemistry, latterly at Texas A&M University. During his long and prolific career he published some 700 papers and two dozen books. His ...

. He subsequently worked as a

research associate Research associates are researchers (scholars and professionals) that usually have an advanced degree beyond a Master's degree. In some universities/research institutes, such as Harvard/Harvard Medical School/Harvard School of Public Health, the ...

at the

Chester Beatty Sir Alfred Chester Beatty (7 February 1875 – 19 January 1968)Seanad 1985: "Chester Beatty died at the Princess Grace Clinic, Monte Carlo, on 19 January 1968, .. (some sources give this as 20 January). was an American-British mining magnate, p ...

Cancer Research Institute in London. From 1954 until 1956 he was assistant professor at

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

. In 1956, he was recruited to the then two-year-old Department of Chemistry at the University of Ottawa as an associate professor by the late Professor

Keith J. Laidler Keith James Laidler (January 3, 1916 – August 26, 2003), born in England, was notable as a pioneer in chemical kinetics and authority on the physical chemistry of enzymes. Education Laidler received his early education at Liverpool College. H ...

. He was promoted to the rank of full professor in 1962. Conway served as chairman of the department from 1966 to 1969 and from 1975 to 1980. He was a Killam Senior Research Fellow from 1983 to 1985 and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (

NSERC The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC; french: Conseil de recherches en sciences naturelles et en génie du Canada, CRSNG) is the major federal agency responsible for funding natural sciences and engineering rese ...

) - Alcan Professor of Electrochemistry from 1987 to 1992. He is the author of more than 400 refereed scientific research articles and four books. is a senior editor of 2 series, Comprehensive Treatise of Electrochemistry and Modern Aspects of Electrochemistry, and has written Electrochemical Data, Electrode Processes and Ionic Hydration in Chemistry and Biophysics. Conway was a "complete" electrochemist in that he worked on nearly all aspects of electrochemistry: the electrified interface, ion solvation,

adsorption Adsorption is the adhesion of atoms, ions or molecules from a gas, liquid or dissolved solid to a surface. This process creates a film of the ''adsorbate'' on the surface of the ''adsorbent''. This process differs from absorption, in which a f ...

, electrode kinetics and

solvated electron A solvated electron is a free electron in (solvated in) a solution, and is the smallest possible anion. Solvated electrons occur widely. Often, discussions of solvated electrons focus on their solutions in ammonia, which are stable for days, but s ...

, oxide film formation, electrocatalysis,

rechargeable batteries A rechargeable battery, storage battery, or secondary cell (formally a type of energy accumulator), is a type of electrical battery which can be charged, discharged into a load, and recharged many times, as opposed to a disposable or prima ...

, and

electrochemical capacitor A supercapacitor (SC), also called an ultracapacitor, is a high-capacity capacitor, with a capacitance value much higher than other capacitors but with lower voltage limits. It bridges the gap between electrolytic capacitors and rechargeable b ...

s. He coined the term

Supercapacitor A supercapacitor (SC), also called an ultracapacitor, is a high-capacity capacitor, with a capacitance value much higher than other capacitors but with lower voltage limits. It bridges the gap between electrolytic capacitors and rechargeable ba ...

.A. K. Shukla, T. P. Kumar, Electrochemistry Encyclopedia (http://electrochem.cwru.edu/encycl/ ), PILLARS OF MODERN ELECTROCHEMISTRY: A BRIEF HISTORY Central Electrochemical Research Institute, (November, 2008) Amongst his most prestigious honours and awards are Fellow of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...

(1968), the Chemical Institute of Canada Medal (1975), the American Chemical Society Kendall Award in Surface Chemistry (1984), the Electrochemical Society Henry Linford Medal (1984), the Olin Palladium Medal and Award of the Electrochemical Society (1989), the Galvani Medal of the Italian Chemical Society (1991), and Fellow of the

Electrochemical Society The Electrochemical Society is a learned society (professional association) based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of electrochemistry and solid-state science and related technology. The Society membership compris ...

(1995).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conway, Brian Evans 1927 births 2005 deaths Canadian chemists Electrochemists Alumni of Imperial College London University of Ottawa faculty British emigrants to Canada