Jonathan A. Jones (born 1967) is a professor in atomic and laser physics at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, and a

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

and tutor in physics at

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the m ...

Education

Jones studied at

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the 12t ...

, from 1985 to 1989 and

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pr ...

, from 1989 to 1992. He received his

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

degree in 1992 for research on Nuclear magnetic resonance data processing methods supervised by

Peter Hore Peter Hore is an Australian-born man best known for public stunts such as disrupting the 1997 Melbourne Cup by running onto the track during the race, interrupting a tennis match at the Australian Open, and gate-crashing celebrity funerals. ...

Research and career

Although trained in

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the elements that make up matter to the compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, proper ...

, he is active in

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which ...

, especially for his work on NMR

quantum computation Quantum computing is a type of computation whose operations can harness the phenomena of quantum mechanics, such as superposition, interference, and entanglement. Devices that perform quantum computations are known as quantum computers. Though ...

for which he was awarded the 2000

Marlow Medal 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 Insti ...

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 Inst ...

. His main research interest is in

"Freedom of information" activism

In 2009, Jones joined in making Freedom of Information requests to the Climatic Research Unit following a complaint by blogger Steve McIntyre that the Climatic Research Unit of 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 ...

(UEA) had refused to release raw weather station data. Meteorological organisations had allowed the university to use this data on the understanding that it would be kept private, largely due to its commercial value. Jones made a

Freedom of Information Freedom of information is freedom of a person or people to publish and consume information. Access to information is the ability for an individual to seek, receive and impart information effectively. This sometimes includes "scientific, indigen ...

request for raw data which the university had shared with another researcher, but refused to provide to McIntyre. The university worked with the

Met Office The Meteorological Office, abbreviated as the Met Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and is led by CEO Penelop ...

to get meteorological organisations to waive confidentiality on raw instrumental data, most failed to respond and two refused. In 2011 the

Information Commissioner's Office The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is a non-departmental public body which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). It is the independ ...

decided that the university had to make the data public, regardless of the wishes of its owners. Jones said to

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadc ...

that it was a matter of principle, "This dataset wasn't particularly interesting, but we thought the data in general should be available, and we thought people shouldn't have to make FoI requests for it." The decision was described as a "landmark ruling" and a "victory for critics of the UEA" by Fred Pearce of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

''. Jones said "My sole aim n pursuing the caseis to help restore climate science to something more closely resembling scientific norms".

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Jonathan Alcwyn 1967 births Living people British physicists Fellows of Brasenose College, Oxford Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford Place of birth missing (living people)