John Meurig Thomas
| Sir John Meurig Thomas | |
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| Born | 15 December 1932 |
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Website www-hrem |
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Sir John Meurig Thomas FLSW FRS HonFREng (born 15 December 1932) is a British chemist and educator primarily known for his work on heterogeneous catalysis, solid-state chemistry, and surface and materials science. Thomas has authored over one thousand scientific articles and several books, including Principles and Practice of Heterogeneous Catalysis (with W. John Thomas) and Michael Faraday and the Royal Institution: The Genius of Man and Place.
In 1991 Thomas was knighted "for services to chemistry and the popularisation of science". The mineral meurigite is named after him. Much of his research has involved creating new solid catalysts and trying to understand the structure and activity of existing ones using techniques such as X-ray absorption, NMR spectroscopy, and high resolution transmission electron microscopy. Thomas is one of the most cited authors in the field of heterogeneous catalysis. In recent years, he has focused on designing green chemistry catalysts for clean technology and on developing ways of studying catalysts in situ.
Thomas was born and brought up near the Welsh mining town of Llanelli, South Wales where his father and brother were miners. His interest in science was aroused when as a teenager he heard his physics teacher at Gwendraeth Grammar School talk about the life and work of Michael Faraday. Later in life, Sir John would become the Fullerian Professor of Chemistry at the Royal Institution of Great Britain, in London, a position held by Michael Faraday, who has remained one of his scientific heroes.
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