George Gray (chemist)
George William Gray CBE, FRS (born 4 September 1926) is a Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Hull who was instrumental in developing the long-lasting materials which made liquid crystal displays possible. He created and systematised the liquid crystal materials science, and established a method of practical molecular design.[1]
Born in Scotland, Gray was educated at the University of Glasgow and the University of London. He developed his academic career at the University of Hull from 1946 to 1990, where he remains an Emeritus Professor. In 1973, in conjunction with the Royal Radar Establishment, he showed that 4-Cyano-4'-pentylbiphenyl possessed a stable nematic phase at room temperature.[2] This compound and other long-lasting cyano-biphenyls made the twisted nematic display (LCD) popular. Gray wrote the first English book covering the subject of liquid crystals, "Molecular Structure and Properties of Liquid Crystals", published in 1962.[3]
Gray was recipient of the 1995 Kyoto Prize for Advanced Technology and is a Commander of the British Empire (CBE). He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1983, and in 1987 was awarded the Leverhulme Medal of the Royal Society. Gray has been a Director of the International Liquid Crystal Society. Members of the British Liquid Crystal Society honoured his achievements by establishing the George W. Gray Medal for contributions to liquid crystal research and technology.[4]
Hull Trains named their first British Rail Class 222 'Pioneer' high-speed train Professor George Gray in recognition of his achievements in the modern history of Hull.[5][6]
References
- ^ "George William Gray - Biography". The 1995 Kyoto Prize - Advanced Technology. Inamori Foundation. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
- ^ "George Gray: Liquid Perfection". Null Hypothesis. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
- ^ "Applications of Liquid Crystals". Liquid Crystal Group, University of Hamburg. 2001-05-28. Archived from the original on 2001-05-28. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
- ^ "Upcoming Events - George W. Gray". Liquid Crystal Institute, kent State University. 1997-06-06. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
- ^ "New fleet named to celebrate modern "Pioneers"". Hull Trains. 2007-04-17. Archived from the original on 2007-04-17. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
- ^ Martin A. Bates (2005-07-01). "George Gray honoured as a "Hull Pioneer"". The Liquid Crystal & Advanced Materials Group, University of York. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
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- David Dunmur & Tim Sluckin (2011) Soap, Science, and Flat-screen TVs: a history of liquid crystals, pp 201,221–5, Oxford University Press ISBN 978-0-19-954940-5 .
- Gray, George William (1998). "Reminiscences from a life with liquid crystals". Liquid Crystals. 24 (1): 5–14. doi:10.1080/026782998207523.
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External links
- The History of Liquid Crystals at the University of Hull
- George William Gray, Kyoto Prize biography
- George William Gray, Kyoto Prize citation
- George Gray - Liquid Perfection
- Interview With George Gray, The Vega Science Trust
- The history of liquid-crystal displays, Hirohisa Kawamoto, Proceedings of the IEEE, Vol. 90, No. 4, April 2002
- G. W. Gray, K. J. Harrison, J. A. Nash "New family of nematic liquid crystals for displays" Electronics Lett. 9 (1973) 130
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