Brian Harford Robinson (24 April 1940 – 30 August 2016) was a New Zealand

inorganic chemist Inorganic chemistry deals with synthesis and behavior of inorganic and organometallic compounds. This field covers chemical compounds that are not carbon-based, which are the subjects of organic chemistry. The distinction between the two discipl ...

. He is noted for his contribution to cluster chemistry and the design of organometallic compounds with

biomedical Biomedicine (also referred to as Western medicine, mainstream medicine or conventional medicine)

applications.

Early life and education

Born in Christchurch on 24 April 1940, Robinson was the son of Jack Robinson and Lurline Robinson (née Cross). He was educated at Christchurch Boys' High School, and then studied at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

, graduating Master of Science with second-class honours in chemistry in 1962. He completed a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

at the same institution in 1964. His thesis, titled ''Studies in the coordination chemistry of certain transition metals'', elucidated the first structure of a cluster compound and its unusual delocalised bonding. On 12 May 1962, Robinson married Judith Rae, and they went on to have four children.

Academic and research career

After periods of post-doctoral research at the

University of Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a UK public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick univer ...

and the University of Manchester in 1965 and 1966, Robinson was a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Otago in Dunedin from 1967 to 2006. He became a professor in 1985 and the Mellor Professor of Chemistry in 1996, and served as the head of the Department of Chemistry from 1986 to 1998. When he retired in 2006 he was made a professor emeritus. Building on his doctoral research, Robinson proposed that

metal carbonyl cluster In chemistry, a metal carbonyl cluster is a compound that contains two or more metals linked in part by metal-metal bonds and containing carbon monoxide (CO) as the exclusive or predominant ligand. The area is a subfield of metal carbonyl chemistry ...

s could participate in electron transfer reactions, and demonstrated that clusters are able to be reversibly reduced. Other research areas that he pursued included the design of organometallic compounds for use in biomedical research, and the development of molecular switches.

Later life and death

Following his retirement, Robinson continued to be an active researcher, including work to develop a post-surgical protective gel based on chitosan from squid. The resulting product was sold to American medical technology company

Medtronic Medtronic plc is an American medical device company. The company's operational and executive headquarters are in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and its legal headquarters are in Ireland due to its acquisition of Irish-based Covidien in 2015. While it ...

in 2012. In 2013, Robinson became chair of the board of the Dunedin branch of the University of the Third Age. Robinson died in Wellington on 30 August 2016.

Honours and awards

In 1999 Robinson was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand. In 2010 he was awarded a

Marsden Medal The Marsden Medal is a yearly award given by the New Zealand Association of Scientists. It is named after Sir Ernest Marsden and honours "a lifetime of outstanding service to the cause or profession of science, in recognition of service rendere ...

by the New Zealand Association of Scientists, in recognition of his lifetime contribution to science. He was also a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry, and the Society of Perfumers and Flavourists. An active

Rotarian Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, prof ...

, Robinson was a recipient of the Paul Harris Fellowship for community service in 2004.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Brian 1940 births 2016 deaths Scientists from Christchurch People educated at Christchurch Boys' High School University of Canterbury alumni New Zealand chemists Inorganic chemists Academic staff of the University of Otago Fellows of the Royal Society of New Zealand Fellows of the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry