John Maurice Campbell Plane, , , is a British atmospheric chemist, currently Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry at the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

. His research investigates planetary atmospheres using a range of theoretical and experimental techniques.

Early life and career

Plane was born in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. He took an MA (1979) and 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 ...

(1983) at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, where he also held a research fellowship. Later, he held academic appointments at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

and the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

, before moving to the

Research interests

Plane's research focuses on understanding the chemistry of planetary atmospheres (including Earth's) involving a combination of laboratory techniques (

kinetics Kinetics ( grc, κίνησις, , kinesis, ''movement'' or ''to move'') may refer to: Science and medicine * Kinetics (physics), the study of motion and its causes ** Rigid body kinetics, the study of the motion of rigid bodies * Chemical ki ...

and

photochemistry Photochemistry is the branch of chemistry concerned with the chemical effects of light. Generally, this term is used to describe a chemical reaction caused by absorption of ultraviolet (wavelength from 100 to 400 nm), visible light (400–7 ...

), atmospheric measurements (''in situ'' and satellite

remote sensing Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon without making physical contact with the object, in contrast to in situ or on-site observation. The term is applied especially to acquiring information about Earth ...

), and modelling at different scales. His research group studies four main areas: Earth's

mesosphere The mesosphere (; ) is the third layer of the atmosphere, directly above the stratosphere and directly below the thermosphere. In the mesosphere, temperature decreases as altitude increases. This characteristic is used to define its limits: it ...

(middle and upper atmosphere) and

troposphere The troposphere is the first and lowest layer of the atmosphere of the Earth, and contains 75% of the total mass of the planetary atmosphere, 99% of the total mass of water vapour and aerosols, and is where most weather phenomena occur. From ...

(lower atmosphere), the atmospheres of other planets, and interstellar chemistry (such as the formation of stardust). Plane is particularly noted for his work on the chemistry of metals that

ablate Ablation ( la, ablatio – removal) is removal or destruction of something from an object by vaporization, chipping, erosive processes or by other means. Examples of ablative materials are described below, and include spacecraft material for a ...

("erode") from

cosmic dust Cosmic dust, also called extraterrestrial dust, star dust or space dust, is dust which exists in outer space, or has fallen on Earth. Most cosmic dust particles measure between a few molecules and 0.1 mm (100 micrometers). Larger particles are c ...

particles, such as

meteoroids A meteoroid () is a small rocky or metallic body in outer space. Meteoroids are defined as objects significantly smaller than asteroids, ranging in size from grains to objects up to a meter wide. Objects smaller than this are classified as micr ...

, as they enter the atmosphere. He is an expert on mesospheric metal chemistry, a pioneer of

Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy In atmospheric chemistry, differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) is used to measure concentrations of trace gases. When combined with basic optical spectrometers such as prisms or diffraction gratings and automated, ground-based observa ...

(DOAS), and one of the developers of tropospheric

iodine Iodine is a chemical element with the symbol I and atomic number 53. The heaviest of the stable halogens, it exists as a semi-lustrous, non-metallic solid at standard conditions that melts to form a deep violet liquid at , and boils to a vi ...

chemistry - a means of studying the composition of Earth's atmosphere. He has authored over 240 peer-reviewed papers.

Awards

Plane has received numerous honors and awards, including 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 chemistry, chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the Ro ...

prize in Reaction Kinetics and Mechanisms (2005), a Royal Society of Chemistry

Tilden Prize The Tilden Prize is an award that is made by the Royal Society of Chemistry for advances in chemistry. The award was established in 1939 and commemorates Sir William A. Tilden, a prominent British chemist. The prize runs annually with up to three ...

Lectureship (2006) ("for his outstanding contributions to our understanding of the chemistry of the troposphere and mesosphere through field measurements, laboratory experiments and theory"), the National Science Foundation CEDAR (Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions) Lecture Prize (2007), and the

European Geosciences Union The European Geosciences Union (EGU) is a non-profit international union in the fields of Earth, planetary, and space sciences whose vision is to "realise a sustainable and just future for humanity and for the planet." The organisation has headq ...

Vilhelm Bjerknes Medal The Vilhelm Bjerknes Medal is an award presented by the European Geosciences Union (and its predecessor, the European Geophysical Society) that recognizes "distinguished research in atmospheric sciences". It was first awarded in 1997, to Brian Hos ...

(2017) ("in recognition of his groundbreaking work in atmospheric chemistry"). He was elected a Fellow of the

American Geophysical Union The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of Earth, atmospheric, ocean, hydrologic, space, and planetary scientists and enthusiasts that according to their website includes 130,000 people (not members). AGU's act ...

in 2017. He is also 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 ...

and a

Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society (Whatever shines should be observed) , predecessor = , successor = , formation = , founder = , extinction = , merger = , merged = , type = NGO ...

, and was elected 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 science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in 2020.

Selected publications

* * * *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Plane, John Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Academics of the University of East Anglia Academics of the University of Leeds British chemists