John Neil Sherwood (c. 1933 – 4 December 2020) was a British physical chemist, who researched

organic Organic may refer to: * Organic, of or relating to an organism, a living entity * Organic, of or relating to an anatomical organ Chemistry * Organic matter, matter that has come from a once-living organism, is capable of decay or is the product ...

crystal A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macros ...

s. He spent his career at the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...

, where he was professor of chemistry (1977–2002), as well as serving as vice-principal (from 1994).

Career and research

Sherwood was born in

Redruth Redruth ( , kw, Resrudh) is a town and civil parishes in Cornwall, civil parish in Cornwall, England. The population of Redruth was 14,018 at the 2011 census. In the same year the population of the Camborne-Redruth urban area, which also inc ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, to Lily (née Rose) and William Sherwood, who taught French. He was educated at

Aireborough Grammar School Aireborough Grammar School was an English state grammar school situated on the Yeadon / Guiseley border in Aireborough, West Yorkshire. The school was founded in 1910 and closed in 1991. History In January 1906, a meeting of Rawdon, Yeadon, Gu ...

, near

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

, and from 1951 studied chemistry at the

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charte ...

, where he gained BSc (1955), PhD (1960) and DSc (1976) degrees. His DSc thesis was entitled "Studies of the solid state". In 1960, he joined the Royal College of Science and Technology in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

– from 1964, part of the

– where he was lecturer and then professor of chemistry (from 1977). He served as dean of the faculty of science, and the university's deputy principal and vice-principal (from 1994). He retired in 2002, remaining an emeritus professor in pure and applied chemistry until his death. His research was into

s, particularly their growth and the effects of imperfections. He grew large high-purity crystals of various compounds, and established a research centre at Strathclyde, the first to research growth of organic crystals. Some of his research had industrial applications, including preventing fuels from crystallising at low temperatures, ensuring the safety of explosives, and researching novel

fibre-optics An optical fiber, or optical fibre in Commonwealth English, is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. Optical fibers are used most often as a means t ...

for use in communications. Sherwood chaired the British Association for Crystal Growth. He was elected fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

in 1975, and was also a fellow 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 chemistry, chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the Ro ...

Personal life

In 1958, he married Margaret Shaw (died 2020); they had two daughters. He died on 4 December 2020, at the age of 87.

Selected publications

Books Source: *David Pugh, Kevin J. Roberts, John N. Sherwood (eds). ''Crystal Growth of Organic Materials'' (Institute of Physics, 1993) () *John N. Sherwood (ed.). ''Structure of Surfaces and Interfaces as Studied Using Synchrotron Radiation'' (Royal Society of Chemistry; 1990) () *John N. Sherwood (ed.). ''The Plastically Crystalline State: Orientationally-disordered Crystals'' (J. Wiley & Sons; 1979) () *John Neil Sherwood (ed.). ''Diffusion processes: Proceedings of the Thomas Graham Memorial Symposium, University of Strathclyde'' (Gordon and Breach; 1971) () *

George Murray Burnett Prof George Murray Burnett FRSE FRSA FRIC LLD (1921–1980) was a Scottish mathematician and chemist. He served as both Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Heriot-Watt University from 1974 until 1980. He is largely remembered for his work o ...

, John Neil Sherwood, Alastair M. North (eds). ''Transfer and Storage of Energy by Molecules'' Volume 4 (Wiley-Interscience; 1969) () Research articles * * *

References

External links

Profile at University of Strathclyde
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sherwood, John Year of birth uncertain 2020 deaths People from Redruth People educated at Aireborough Grammar School Academics of the University of Strathclyde British physical chemists 20th-century British chemists Alumni of the College of the Venerable Bede, Durham