Laurence Barron

Laurence Barron works on the electric, magnetic and optical properties of molecules. A special interest in chirality brings a wide range of topics into his research, including Raman optical activity which he predicted, observed and applied to problems at the forefront of chemical and biomolecular research. His much-cited book, Molecular Light Scattering and Optical Activity, is a unique resource that has contributed to the growing impact of chirality on many areas of modern science. He was born in 1944 in Southampton and studied chemistry at London University, graduating in 1965. From 1965 to 1969 he worked for his Ph.D. at Oxford University under the supervision of Professor Peter Atkins on the theory of nonlinear optical activity and of polarized light scattering generally. From 1969 to 1975 he carried out postdoctoral work with Professor David Buckingham at Cambridge University with whom he made first observations of Raman optical activity. He moved to the Chemistry Department at the University of Glasgow in 1975 as a Lecturer, becoming Gardiner Professor in 1998 (Emeritus from 2008). He is a Fellow of the Royal Society, The Royal Society of Edinburgh, The Institute of Physics and The Royal Society of Chemistry. He was awarded the prestigious Chirality Medal by the Societa Chimica Italiana for 2011.