Gordon Brims Black McIvor Sutherland
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Sir Gordon Brims Black McIvor Sutherland FRS (8 April 1907 – 27 June 1980) was a
Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
physicist.


Biography

Sutherland was born on 8 April 1907 at
Watten Watten may refer to: Places * Watten, Nord, a commune in the Nord ''département'' of France ** ''Blockhaus d'Éperlecques'' or Watten bunker, intended to be a launching facility for the V-2 ballistic missile * Watten, Highland, a village in Cai ...
,
Caithness Caithness ( gd, Gallaibh ; sco, Caitnes; non, Katanes) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Caithness has a land boundary with the historic county of Sutherland to the west and is otherwise bounded by ...
. He was the youngest of seven children of Peter Sutherland and Eliza Hope (née Morrison), both teachers. He was taught by his parents until he was ten, when he attended Leven Academy for a year before moving to
Morgan Academy Morgan Academy is a Secondary School in the Stobswell area of Dundee, Scotland. History The building was designed in 1862 by the Edinburgh architects John Dick Peddie and Charles Kinnear, opening in 1866 as the Morgan Hospital, a charitable in ...
in Dundee for 6 years. From there he went to the
University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...
where he took the unusual route of studying for a double degree: an MA in mathematics and applied mathematics, and a BSc in physics. This involved a 5-year combination of courses that had not been taken before. He graduated in 1928 and 1929 with first-class honours in each. Sutherland’s first research work was at
Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...
under
Ralph H. Fowler Sir Ralph Howard Fowler (17 January 1889 – 28 July 1944) was a British physicist and astronomer. Education Fowler was born at Roydon, Essex, on 17 January 1889 to Howard Fowler, from Burnham, Somerset, and Frances Eva, daughter of George De ...
, but after a year he concluded that he did not have the mathematical ability to be a good theoretical physicist, so he switched to experimental work on Raman spectra with
Martin Lowry Thomas Martin Lowry (; 26 October 1874 – 2 November 1936) was an English physical chemist who developed the Brønsted–Lowry acid–base theory simultaneously with and independently of Johannes Nicolaus Brønsted and was a founder-member an ...
and C. P. Snow. During this time he met, and was much impressed by,
David M. Dennison David Mathias Dennison (April 26, 1900 in Oberlin, Ohio – April 3, 1976) was an American physicist who made contributions to quantum mechanics, spectroscopy, and the physics of molecular structure. Education In 1917, Dennison entered Sw ...
who was on sabbatical from the
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
. He successfully applied for a Commonwealth Fund Fellowship, and so sailed from Liverpool on the
MV Britannic MV ''Britannic'' was a British Transatlantic crossing, transatlantic ocean liner that was launched in 1929 and scrapped in 1960. She was the penultimate ship built for White Star Line before its 1934 merger with Cunard Line. When built, ''Brita ...
in September 1931, en route to
Ann Arbor Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), ...
. He worked in Dennison’s group for two academic years on a detailed infrared study of NO2 and N2O4 together with Raman studies on N2O4 and ozone. Having gained a Carnegie Fellowship, Sutherland was able to return to Cambridge, this time to Lennard-Jones’s group where he worked with W G Penney on trying to understand the reasons for the very weak Raman spectra of hydrazine and hydrogen peroxide. This was resolved, as was the that for the ozone spectrum. Sutherland then successfully applied for the Stokes Studentship tenable at Pembroke College, and was elected to a Staff Fellowship the following year. He soon built up a group of very able researchers, including Gordon K T Conn and Mansel Davies. From 1939 Sutherland was engaged in war work. This initially involved locating and disabling unexploded bombs, and later the use of infrared spectroscopy to help in the analysis of the petrol being used by the Germans in their fighters and bombers. He found that
iso-octane 2,2,4-Trimethylpentane, also known as isooctane or iso-octane, is an organic compound with the formula (CH3)3CCH2CH(CH3)2. It is one of several isomers of octane (C8H18). This particular isomer is the standard 100 point on the octane rating scale ...
component of the fuel had a highly characteristic set of bands which was evident even in complex mixtures. This analysis, which could be automated to make the detection in minutes, was valuable in the choice of targets for Bomber Command. He 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 1949, the year in which he was also asked if he would like to return to UMich as a full professor. After much thought, especially about what he would be leaving behind, he took up the offer. It took a considerable time to build the group he wanted, but he was able to develop his interest in the biochemical and biophysical applications of infrared spectroscopy. Sutherland returned to Britain as Director of the National Physical Laboratory (NPL). He and his family sailed on the SS United States, arriving at Southampton from New York on 24 July 1956. During his period at the NPL he successfully obtained additional staff and facilities for the Laboratory, to make up for the relative lack of investment since the war. He appointed John Pople to head up a new basics physics division, who was joined by
David Whiffen David Hardy Whiffen Royal Society, FRS (15 August 1922 – 2 December 2002) was an English physicist and pioneer of infrared and Electron Spin Resonance known for the "Whiffen Effect". Life He was born in Esher, Surrey into a family of chemical m ...
, Keith McLauchlan, and
Ray Freeman Raymond Freeman FRS (6 January 1932 – 1 May 2022) was a British chemist and professor at Jesus College, Cambridge who made important contributions to NMR spectroscopy. Education Freeman was educated at Nottingham High School where he won an ...
who together developed the use of nuclear magnetic resonance. Sutherland was knighted in 1960 and returned to Cambridge in 1964 as Master of
Emmanuel Immanuel ( he, עִמָּנוּאֵל, 'Īmmānū'ēl, meaning, "God is with us"; also romanized: , ; and or in Koine Greek of the New Testament) is a Hebrew name that appears in the Book of Isaiah (7:14) as a sign that God will protect the H ...
. He retired in 1977. He was a member of both the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...
and the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
.


Family

Sutherland met his future wife, Gunborg Elisabeth Wahlström from Sweden, in Cambridge in 1933. She was staying with the family of
Reginald Revans Reginald William Revans (14 May 1907 – 8 January 2003) was an academic professor, administrator and management consultant who pioneered the use of Action learning. He was also a long jumper who represented United Kingdom of Great ...
, whom Sutherland had met in the physics department at UMich. Gordon and Gunborg were engaged in 1935. She left Sweden for England again on 12 February 1936, and they married that year at
Caxton Hall Caxton Hall is a building on the corner of Caxton Street and Palmer Street, in Westminster, London, England. It is a Grade II listed building primarily noted for its historical associations. It hosted many mainstream and fringe political and art ...
in London. The Sutherlands had three daughters: Sir Gordon Brims Black McIvor Sutherland died on 27 January 1980 at
Little Shelford Little Shelford is a village located to the south of Cambridge, in the county of Cambridgeshire, in eastern England. The River Granta lies between it and the larger village of Great Shelford, and both are served by Shelford railway station, whic ...
, Cambridgeshire and is buried in the
churchyard In Christian countries a churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church, which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language and in both Scottish English and Ulster-Scots, this can also ...
there. Lady Gunborg Elisabeth Sutherland died on 6 April 2001 and is buried with her husband.


Other posts held

*Member of Royal Society delegation to mainland China (1962) *Vice-President of the Royal Society (1962-63) *Served on the Council for Scientific Policy (1965-1967) *The U.K. representative on a committee of the
International Council of Scientific Unions The International Council for Science (ICSU, after its former name, International Council of Scientific Unions) was an international non-governmental organization devoted to international cooperation in the advancement of science. Its members ...
(1965) *President of the
Institute of Physics The Institute of Physics (IOP) is a UK-based learned society and professional body that works to advance physics education, research and application. It was founded in 1874 and has a worldwide membership of over 20,000. The IOP is the Physica ...
(1964-1966) *Honorary Vice-President of the International Organization for Pure and Applied Biophysics *Member of the
National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...
’s Board of Trustees (1971-1978) *Trustee of Wolfson College, Cambridge for 11 years, then elected Honorary Fellow in 1977 *Trustee of
Rothamsted Experimental Station Rothamsted Research, previously known as the Rothamsted Experimental Station and then the Institute of Arable Crops Research, is one of the oldest agricultural research institutions in the world, having been founded in 1843. It is located at Harp ...
(1979-1980)


References


External links

* http://www.archiveshub.ac.uk/news/03041101.html * https://web.archive.org/web/20120807184147/http://www.npl.co.uk/educate-explore/history-of-npl/npl-directors/sir-gordon-brims-black-mcivor-sutherland {{DEFAULTSORT:Sutherland, Gordon Brims Black McIvor 1907 births 1980 deaths People from Caithness Alumni of the University of St Andrews British physicists Fellows of the Royal Society Knights Bachelor Masters of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Presidents of the Institute of Physics University of Michigan faculty People educated at Morgan Academy Scientists of the National Physical Laboratory (United Kingdom) Members of the American Philosophical Society