John Simpson (British nuclear physicist)

John Simpson FInstP (born 23 March 1958) is a British nuclear physicist. He is known for his work in gamma-ray spectroscopy and detector design. He was Head of Technology, Division of Technology Department.[1] and was Head of the Nuclear Physics Group[2] at STFC Daresbury Laboratory. He is a visiting professor of physics at the University of Liverpool.

John Simpson
British nuclear physicist John Simpson closing up the Euroball gamma-ray spectrometer target chamber
Born
John Simpson

(1958-03-23) 23 March 1958 (age 66)
SpouseLinda Simpson
ChildrenAndrew Simpson, Jayne Simpson & Richard Simpson
AwardsInstitute of Physics Ernest Rutherford Medal and Prize (2016)
Scientific career
FieldsNuclear Physics
InstitutionsDaresbury Laboratory
University of Liverpool
Websitewww.technologysi.stfc.ac.uk/Pages/John-Simpson.aspx

Biography

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Simpson was educated at University of Liverpool (BSc(Hons) Physics Class 1, 1979) and the University of Liverpool (PhD, 1983).

In 2016, he was awarded the Ernest Rutherford Medal and Prize by the Institute of Physics. The award recognizes distinguished research in nuclear physics or nuclear technology. The award citation reads, "For his outstanding leadership in the development of new detector technologies and systems for experimental nuclear physics research within the UK and Europe, and for his seminal contributions to our understanding of the structure of atomic nuclei, especially in revealing new properties of nuclei at the limits of angular momentum, deformation, and stability".[3][4]

An invited Open Access comment to a special Physica Scripta Focus issue celebrating the 40 year anniversary of the 1975 Nobel Prize in Physics to Aage Bohr, Ben Roy Mottelson and Leo Rainwater edited by Jerzy Dudek, outlines selected highlights from experimental investigations at the Niels Bohr Institute, Denmark, and Daresbury Laboratory, UK, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, many of which have continued at other national laboratories in Europe and the US to the present day.[5]

References

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  1. ^ Division of Technology Department STFC Daresbury Laboratory
  2. ^ Nuclear Physics Group STFC Daresbury Laboratory
  3. ^ M.A.Riley (2017). "The 2016 Ernest Rutherford Medal and Prize of the Institute of Physics" (PDF). NuPECC Nuclear Physics News. 271: 37.
  4. ^ Oliver Clay (6 July 2016). "Daresbury physicist receives top science prize previously awarded to Niels Bohr and Peter Higgs". Liverpool Echo.
  5. ^ M.A.Riley; J.Simpson; E.S.Paul (2016). "High resolution gamma-ray spectroscopy and the fascinating angular momentum realm of the atomic nucleus". Physica Scripta. 91 (12): 123002. Bibcode:2016PhyS...91l3002R. doi:10.1088/0031-8949/91/12/123002.
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