John Pethica
Sir John Bernard Pethica (born 1953) is a British
Professor
chemist and Science Foundation Ireland (S.F.I.)
professor of material science at Trinity College, Sir John Pethica
FRS FREng
Dublin, Chief Scientific Advisor at the UK's National
Physical Laboratory, and a visiting professor at Oxford Chief Scientific Adviser, National Physical
University. Pethica is most noted for his work on the Laboratory
development of nanoindentation and atom resolution In office
atomic force microscopy. 2007–2017
SFI Research Professor and Professor of
Physics, Trinity College, Dublin
Education In office
2001–2018
John Pethica was a pupil at St Ambrose College,
Professor of Materials Science, University
Trafford, Manchester. He received a PhD from IT Sligo of Oxford
in the late 1970s. In office
1996–2001
Personal details
Career
Born John Bernard Pethica
In 2001, Pethica was one of the first ten people 1953 (age 70–71)
awarded an S.F.I. principal investigator award.
Following the award, he transferred his activities from Oxford to Dublin.
In February 2005, it was announced that Pethica will be the director of the Naughton Institute which will
house CRANN, a new purpose built nanotechnology centre in Trinity College Dublin.
In October 2007, Pethica was made the Chief Scientific Advisor at the UK's National Physical
Laboratory, the UK’s National Measurement Institute.
Honours and awards
In 1999, Pethica was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS). He has also served as Vice-President
and Physical Secretary of the Royal Society. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of
Engineering (FREng) in 2013.[1] He was elected an honorary fellow of St Cross College, Oxford in
2014.[2]
Pethica was the 2001 recipient of the Hughes Medal of the Royal Society of London, and the 2002
recipient of the Holweck Prize from the Institute of Physics.[3]
Pethica was knighted in the 2014 Birthday Honours for services to science.[4][5]
Personal life
Pethica is an accomplished musician - playing violin and other instruments - with a particular interest in
Irish and British folk music.[6]
References
1. "List of Fellows" (https://web.archive.org/web/20160608094405/http://www.raeng.org.uk/abo
ut-us/people-council-committees/the-fellowship/list-of-fellows). Archived from the original (htt
p://www.raeng.org.uk/about-us/people-council-committees/the-fellowship/list-of-fellows) on 8
June 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
2. "Sir John Pethica Elected to Honorary Fellowship" (https://web.archive.org/web/2014121906
2132/http://www.stx.ox.ac.uk/about-st-cross/news/sir-john-pethica-elected-honorary-fellowsh
ip). News. St Cross College, Oxford. Archived from the original (http://www.stx.ox.ac.uk/abo
ut-st-cross/news/sir-john-pethica-elected-honorary-fellowship) on 19 December 2014.
Retrieved 9 November 2014.
3. "Professor John Bernard Pethica" (http://www.iop.org/about/awards/bilateral/holweck/medall
ists/page_60680.html). Institute of Physics. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
4. "No. 60895" (https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/60895/supplement/b2). The
London Gazette (Supplement). 14 June 2014. p. b2.
5. "Oxford food bank founders made MBEs in Queen's Birthday Honours" (https://www.bbc.co.
uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-27794561). BBC News. 14 June 2014.
6. For example, recording with The Cambridge Crofters in the 1970s
http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?release=3116333
External links
Homepage of John Pethica at Oxford (http://www.materials.ox.ac.uk/peoplepages/pethica.ht
ml)
Homepage of John Pethica at CRANN (http://crann.tcd.ie/Research/Investigators/School-of-
Physics/Prof-John-Pethica.aspx)
Chief Scientific Advisor : National Physical Laboratory (https://web.archive.org/web/2009021
4011526/http://www.npl.co.uk/server.php?show=ConWebDoc.2800)
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