Professor Bruce is one of the foremost exponents in Australia of the chemistry of compounds containing transition metal to carbon bonds, in which field he has achieved an international reputation. He and his co-workers have developed rational syntheses of metal carbonyl clusters, especially of ruthenium, and have structurally analysed key compounds. These are of intense current interest because they provide a model for the behaviour of carbon monoxide on a metal surface. Professor Bruce has also made important contributions to the organometallic chemistry of unsaturated organic fragments such as alkynes and vinylidenes and has written many authoritative reviews.