Sir John Meurig Thomas (15 December 1932 – 13 November 2020), also known as JMT, was a Welsh scientist, educator, university administrator, and historian of science primarily known for his work on heterogeneous catalysis, solid-state chemistry, and surface and materials science. He was one of the founders of solid-state chemistry, starting with his work at the University of Wales, Bangor, in 1958 when he investigated the various ways in which dislocations influence the chemical, electronic and excitonic properties of a range of solids. He was one of the first to exploit electron microscopy as a chemical tool, especially to deduce active-site reactivities from the surface topography of many minerals and crystal hydrates. At the University of Aberystwyth (1969–1978) he elucidated the surface chemistry of diamond, clay minerals, metals and intercalates by pioneering UV and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. He also initiated the field of crystal engineering of organic molecules. As head of physical chemistry department at the University of Cambridge (1978–1986), then a separate department to chemistry, he used magic-angle-spinning NMR and high-resolution electron microscopy to characterize and determine the structures of zeolites and other nanoporous catalysts. As Fullerian Professor and Director of the Royal Institution and of the Davy–Faraday Research Laboratory, he utilized synchrotron radiation to characterize, in situ, new catalysts designed for green chemistry and clean technology. He was the recipient of many national and international awards; and, for his contribution to geochemistry, the mineral meurigite was named in his honour. He was Master of Peterhouse, University of Cambridge (1993–2002), and was knighted in 1991 "for services to chemistry and the popularisation of science". Thomas authored more than 1200 scientific articles and several books, including Michael Faraday and the Royal Institution: The Genius of Man and Place (1991), Principles and Practice of Heterogeneous Catalysis (with W. John Thomas, 1997, 2014), and Design and Applications of Single-Site Heterogeneous Catalysts: Contributions to Green Chemistry, Clean Technology and Sustainability (2012).
Biography
Early life and education Thomas was born and brought up in the Gwendraeth Valley, Carmarthenshire, Wales, near the mining town of Llanelli, where his father and brother were miners. He attended Gwendraeth Grammar School. Thomas earned a BSc degree from the University College of Wales, Swansea (later Swansea University) in 1954. He earned a PhD from Queen Mary College (later Queen Mary University of London) in 1958, working with Keble W. Sykes.
Personal life In 1959, Thomas married Margaret Edwards with whom he had two daughters. Margaret Thomas died in 2002. In April 2010, Thomas married Jehane Ragai of the American University in Cairo; the events took place in Cambridge and London. The recreations he lists in Who's Who include ancient civilisations, bird watching, and Welsh literature.
Early career After a year's work for the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority as scientific officer (1957–1958), Thomas joined the Department of Chemistry at the University College of North Wales (later Bangor University) as of September 1958. There he rose through the ranks from Assistant Lecturer (1958), to Lecturer (1959), to Senior Lecturer (1964) and then to Reader in 1965. Thomas demonstrated the profound influence of dislocations and other structural imperfections upon the chemical, electronic, and surface properties of solids. In 1969 Thomas became a Professor and Head of Chemistry at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, where he broadened his interests in solid-state, surface and materials chemistry and pioneered new techniques for the application of electron microscopy in chemistry. In 1977 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. In 1978, Thomas succeeded Jack Linnett as Head of the Department of Physical Chemistry at the University of Cambridge (then a separate department from the Department of Chemistry, which covered Organic, Inorganic and Theoretical Chemistry). He also became a Professorial Fellow at King's College, Cambridge, holding both positions until 1986. Thomas continued developing new techniques in solid-state and materials science, and designing and synthesising new catalysts. For example, he extended his earlier electron microscopic and surface studies of minerals and intercalates to encompass the synthesis and structural determination of zeolitic materials by a combination of solid-state NMR, neutron scattering, and real-space imaging.
Director of the Royal Institution In 1986, Thomas succeeded Sir George Porter as Director of the Royal Institution of Great Britain, London. He also became the holder of the Michael Faraday chair, and the Director of the Davy Faraday Research Laboratory (DFRL). The Royal Institution was founded in 1799. Its earliest directors were Humphry Davy (1801–1825) and Michael Faraday (1825–1867). The Davy Faraday Research Laboratory opened on 22 December 1896, with funding from Ludwig Mond. It was "unique of its kind, being the only public laboratory in the world solely devoted to research in pure science". At this time, Thomas began using synchrotron radiation and devised techniques which combine X-ray spectroscopy and high-resolution X-ray diffraction to determine the atomic structure of the active sites of solid catalysts under operating conditions. He also devised new mesoporous, microporous, and molecular sieve catalysts. In 1987 the BBC televised Thomas' Royal Institution Christmas Lectures on crystals, continuing the tradition of lectures for children started by Faraday in 1825. In 1991 Thomas published the book Michael Faraday and the Royal Institution: The Genius of Man and Place, which has since been translated into Japanese (1994) and Italian (2007). In 1991, Thomas resigned as Director of the Royal Institution and the Davy Faraday Research Laboratory, to be succeeded by Peter Day.
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