Emeritus Professor Richard Bushby

It with great sadness that we write to inform you that Professor Richard Bushby, an Emeritus Professor and former Professor of Physical Organic Chemistry in the School of Chemistry at the University of Leeds, has passed away peacefully in his sleep following a short illness.

A prominent and inspirational figure in the British and International Liquid Crystal Communities, Richard had a remarkable academic career. Following his D.Phil with ERH Jones and GH Whitham at Oxford, Richard took up the role of Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow at Queen Mary College London, and then Joined Yale University, working with JA Berson, as a NATO Postdoctoral Fellow. He then started his independent academic career in 1970 at Leeds as Lecturer in Organic Chemistry, rising through the ranks to be appointed as Professor of Physical Organic Chemistry in 1998, and Research Professor in 2004.

A prominent and inspirational figure in the British and International Liquid Crystal Communities, Richard had a remarkable academic career. Following his D.Phil with ERH Jones and GH Whitham at Oxford, Richard took up the role of Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow at Queen Mary College London, and then Joined Yale University, working with JA Berson, as a NATO Postdoctoral Fellow. He then started his independent academic career in 1970 at Leeds as Lecturer in Organic Chemistry, rising through the ranks to be appointed as Professor of Physical Organic Chemistry in 1998, and Research Professor in 2004.

From being a hands-on synthetic organic chemist, he widened the scope of his work to include the synthesis and examination of the properties of the first generation of discotic materials – and then extended further, in conjunction with a team of soft matter physicists to explore the potential of liquid crystalline materials for a variety of medical and commercial roles.

Richard Bushby was very much part of pioneering research at the boundary between Organic Chemistry and Condensed Matter Physics – examining exotic properties such as the magnetism of high-spin polymers, the self-ordering and conductivity of discotic liquid crystals and the self-assembly of complex multi-component systems involving surface alignment on prepared substrates.

The emphasis of some of Richard’s most recent research has shifted to what is perhaps the most exciting new frontier of Liquid Crystal science; the challenge of creating novel biological and chemical sensors. His work at the University of Leeds led to several early breakthroughs in understanding the interplay between surface alignment and anchoring energy at the interface between LCs and surfactants.

We would like to extend our sincerest condolences to his family, colleagues and all who knew him.