Daniel Douglas Eley OBE, FRS (1 October 1914 – 3 September 2015) was a British chemist and Professor of Physical Chemistry at the

University of Nottingham , mottoeng = A city is built on wisdom , established = 1798 – teacher training college1881 – University College Nottingham1948 – university status , type = Public , chancellor ...

. He is known for the Eley–Rideal mechanism in surface chemistry.

Biography

Eley obtained a BSc in Chemistry from the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univ ...

in 1934, and an MSc in 1935. He studied for a PhD with

Michael Polanyi Michael Polanyi (; hu, Polányi Mihály; 11 March 1891 – 22 February 1976) was a Hungarian-British polymath, who made important theoretical contributions to physical chemistry, economics, and philosophy. He argued that positivism supplies ...

which he obtained in 1937, but then moved to St John's College, Cambridge where he undertook a second PhD with

Eric Rideal Sir Eric Keightley Rideal, (11 April 1890 – 25 September 1974)Rideal, Sir Eric Keight ...

which he obtained in 1940. In 1945 he was appointed to a Lectureship in Colloid Science at the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

and was promoted to a Readership in Biophysical Chemistry in 1951. In 1954 he was appointed to be the first Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Nottingham. In 1961 he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), and in 1964 he was elected as a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...

Academic career

Eley was instrumental in the development of the School of Chemistry at the University of Nottingham (formerly the Department of Chemistry). Together with Alan Johnson and Cliff Addison (Professors of Organic and Inorganic Chemistry, respectively) he oversaw the construction of a new Chemistry building in 1960. Eley worked in a variety of areas including heterogeneous catalysis,

organic semiconductor Organic semiconductors are solids whose building blocks are pi-bonded molecules or polymers made up by carbon and hydrogen atoms and – at times – heteroatoms such as nitrogen, sulfur and oxygen. They exist in the form of molecular crystals or ...

s, molecular sieves, photochemistry and radiation chemistry, X-ray crystallography, equilibria in solution, colloids and interfaces and magnetic properties of materials. He maintained links with industry, and money from ICI was used to set up a Centre for Colloid Science in the Chemistry Department. He was a founder member of the

British Biophysical Society The British Biophysical Society is a scientific society that exists to encourage and disseminate developments in the application of physical and chemical concepts to biological systems. It was founded in 1960 following a report from a Working Par ...

. He ran a large research group and published over 250 papers, some of which have been highly cited and a number of which are single author. Eley retired in 1980, but continued to collaborate with colleagues in the department, and to publish articles. Professor Eley worked with Sir

Eric Rideal Sir Eric Keightley Rideal, (11 April 1890 – 25 September 1974)Rideal, Sir Eric Keight ...

studying catalysts, especially the industrially-important reaction between hydrogen compounds containing carbon-carbon double bonds. These experiments led to the discovery of the mechanism for this reaction: the Eley–Rideal reaction. He also conducted work on DNA demonstrating that molecules of DNA can conduct electricity, important for understanding how DNA can be damaged. During this time he also tutored Rosalind Franklin. In honour of his 90th birthday in 2004, the journal

Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...

presented him with a lifetime subscription. He celebrated his 100th birthday on 1 October 2014. On 29 October 2014, the University of Nottingham hosted an event in the School of Chemistry to mark his centenary, in which he was also presented with a certificate marking the 50th anniversary of his election to the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

and a

Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society (professional association) in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the Royal Instit ...

blue plaque.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eley, Dan 1914 births 2015 deaths Alumni of the University of Manchester Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge British chemists Fellows of the Royal Society British centenarians Men centenarians Place of birth missing Officers of the Order of the British Empire Academics of the University of Nottingham Academics of the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology