Lawrence Ernest Lyons 1922–2010

Lawrie Lyons was a physical chemist and organic semiconductors pioneer who advanced knowledge of the electronic and electrical properties of molecular crystals. He was the first professor of physical chemistry at the University of Queensland.
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Lawrie Lyons was a person of vision with a will to initiate and follow-through. This characteristic was evident in his scientific agenda, in his academic and Christian actions and in the care that he had for his family. These strands are inextricably woven in the texture of his life, some of which I have known since I met him as tutor before entering Sydney University in 1954 – but afterwards as his research student and as a friend and collaborator. It is from these perspectives that I write this biographical memoir.

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About this memoir

This memoir was originally published in Historical Records of Australian Science, vol. 27(1), 2016. It was written by John W. White, Research School of Chemistry, Australian National University.

Fellow

Lawrie Lyons

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Conversation with scientist

Professor Lawrence Lyons (1922-2010), physical chemist

Professor Lawrence Lyons interviewed by Professor John White in 2008. Lawrence Lyons was born in 1922, in Sydney. He began studying at the University of Sydney when he was 16 years old. In 1942 he completed an honours degree researching the effects of nitrogen and carbon monoxide on the photolysis of acetone. He received a PhD (1952) and a DSc (1964) from the University of London.
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