Christopher David Garner FRSC FRS (born 9 November 1941) is a British retired chemist, whose research work was in the growing field of Biological Inorganic Chemistry. His research primarily focussed on the role of

transition metal In chemistry, a transition metal (or transition element) is a chemical element in the d-block of the periodic table (groups 3 to 12), though the elements of group 12 (and less often group 3) are sometimes excluded. They are the elements that ca ...

elements in biological processes, for which he published over 400 original papers and reviews on the topic. His specific interests lie in the roles of Molybdenum and

Tungsten Tungsten, or wolfram, is a chemical element with the symbol W and atomic number 74. Tungsten is a rare metal found naturally on Earth almost exclusively as compounds with other elements. It was identified as a new element in 1781 and first isol ...

as the metal centres in various

enzyme cofactor A cofactor is a non-protein chemical compound or Metal ions in aqueous solution, metallic ion that is required for an enzyme's role as a catalysis, catalyst (a catalyst is a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction). Cofactors can ...

s based on the

molybdopterin Molybdopterins are a class of cofactors found in most molybdenum-containing and all tungsten-containing enzymes. Synonyms for molybdopterin are: MPT and pyranopterin-dithiolate. The nomenclature for this biomolecule can be confusing: Molybdopteri ...

molecule. As well as his research work, Garner has also been a member of the

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 ...

, for which he has been a member of the council for many years and served as President from 2008 to 2010.

Academic career

Garner was educated at Cheadle Hulme Warehousemen & Clerk's Orphans' School and studied for his undergraduate degree 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 ...

, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree with

First Class Honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...

in 1963. Under the supervision of Clive Addison subsequently earned his PhD for his work on the ''"Crystal structures of Group IV metal nitrates"'' in 1966.

Career

Following his graduation, Garner took up a post-doctoral research fellowship at the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

for one year, before returning to the UK to take up a post as the ICI Research Fellow at the

. He was then subsequently appointed as a lecturer in chemistry at 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 1968, and rose through the ranks to senior lecturer (1978), and finally appointed Professor of Inorganic Chemistry in 1984. Garner was appointed as the Head of the School of Chemistry from 1988 to 1996, and served as a member of the University Court from 1995 to 1999, and as a member of the University Council from 1996 to 1999. In 1998, Garner took up the post of Professor of Biological Inorganic Chemistry at the

, a post which he held until his retirement in 2010. As such he now holds the post of

professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

. From 2011 to 2017 he served as Editor for 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 ...

journal, ''

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A ''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences'' is a fortnightly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the Royal Society. It publishes original research and review content in a wide ...

''. Garner has also held the following posts in various establishments around the world: * Visiting Professor – University of Louisiana (1977) * Frontiers in Chemical Research Visiting Professor –

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

(1987) * Visiting Professor – Strasbourg University (1990–1992) * Visiting Professor –

University of Florence The University of Florence (Italian: ''Università degli Studi di Firenze'', UniFI) is an Italian public research university located in Florence, Italy. It comprises 12 schools and has around 50,000 students enrolled. History The first universi ...

(1995) * Visiting Professor –

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

(1998) * Visiting Professor – Sydney University (2000) * Wilsmore Fellow –

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...

(1994) * Bye Fellow and Fellow –

Robinson College, Cambridge Robinson College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1977, it is one of the newest Oxbridge colleges and is unique in having been intended, from its inception, for both undergraduate and graduate students of bo ...

(1997) * Chairperson of the ''Chemistry of Metal Ions in Biological Systems (METBIO)'' programme – European Science Foundation (1991–1997) Discussion held during the ''METBIO'' programme resulted in the creation of the Society of Biological Inorganic Chemistry, for which Garner was the Founding President from 1996 to 1998, and also the creation of its official journal, the '' Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry''.

Awards and honours

Garner has received numerous awards and honours including: * Tilden Medal and Lectureship (1985) *

Fellowship 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 mathematic ...

(1997) * Entered into Who's Who (1998) * Joseph Chatt Lectureship (1999) * Inorganic Biochemstry Award (2002) * Ludwig Mond Lectureship (2007) His nomination for the

reads:

Royal Society of Chemistry

Garner has been an active member of the

for many years, having obtained his

Chartered Chemist Chartered Chemist (CChem) is a chartered status awarded by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) in the United Kingdom, the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) in Australia, by the Ministry of Education in Italy, the Institute of Chemistry C ...

(CChem) status in 1982, and being appointed as a

Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry Fellowship of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC) is an award conferred by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) in the United Kingdom. FRSC award Achieving Fellow status in the chemical profession denotes to the wider community a high level of ...

in the same year. Garner has also held the following roles within the RSC: * President of the Dalton Division (2001–2004) * Member of the Council (2005–Present) * President of the RSC (2008–2010) Garner is also an Honorary Fellow of the Chinese Chemical Society.

Personal life

Garner was born to Chrystabel and Richard Norman Garner in 1941. Garner has two children Joseph and Katy with his wife, Pamela, whom he met at the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garner, David 1941 births Living people Alumni of the University of Nottingham British chemists Fellows of the Royal Society Presidents of the Royal Society of Chemistry Fellows of the Royal Society of Chemistry