Paul_F._McMillan

Paul F. McMillan

Paul F. McMillan

Scottish-born chemist (1956–2022)

Paul Francis McMillan (3 June 1956 – 2 February 2022) was a British chemist who held the Sir William Ramsay Chair of Chemistry at University College London.[1] His research considered the study of matter under extreme conditions of temperature and pressure, with a focus on phase transitions, amorphisation, and the study of glassy states. He has also investigated the survival of bacteria and larger organisms (tardigrades) under extreme compression, studies of amyloid fibrils,[2] the synthesis and characterisation of carbonitride nanocrystals and the study of water motion in confined environments. He has made extensive use of Raman spectroscopy together with X-ray diffraction and neutron scattering techniques.

Quick Facts Born, Died ...

Early life and education

McMillan was born in Edinburgh, Midlothian, and brought up in Loanhead, a small mining and farming village at the base of the Pentland Hills.[3] He attended Lasswade High School, where he graduated with the Marshall Memorial medal.[3] He then studied for a bachelor's degree in chemistry at the University of Edinburgh.[3] After graduating, McMillan moved to Arizona State University, where he researched geochemistry with John Holloway and Alexandra Navrotsky.[3] His doctoral research was in using vibrational spectroscopy to investigate the structures of silicate glasses.[4]

Research and career

McMillan worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Arizona State University, where he installed one of the first micro-beam Raman spectroscopy instruments in the US. He used Raman spectroscopy to study high pressure minerals and materials. He was hired to a teaching position at Arizona State University in 1983, and promoted to Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in 1993.[3] He was appointed Director of the Center for Solid State Science in 1997 and was named Presidential Professor of the Sciences.[3] In 2000 he was awarded the Brunauer Cement Award of American Ceramic Society.[5] In 2000, McMillan returned to the United Kingdom, where he was made Professor of Solid State Chemistry at University College London, an appointment jointly held with the Royal Institution.[3] McMillan has also held visiting positions at the Universités of Nantes and Rennes, the Ecole Normale Supérieure and Université Claude Bernard.[citation needed]

McMillan's research involved the exploration of solid state chemistry under extreme high pressure and high temperature conditions using diamond anvil cells.[6] New compounds and materials are prepared and studied at up to a million atmospheres and thousands of degrees Celsius using spectroscopy and synchrotron X-ray diffraction.[7] He studied the properties and structure of liquids, amorphous solids and biological molecules at high pressure.[6] McMillan has contributed across numerous fields and has published work relating to solid state inorganic/materials chemistry, high pressure-high temperature research,[8] amorphous solids and liquids,[9] vibrational spectroscopy,[10] synchrotron X-ray and neutron scattering, mineral physics, graphitic carbonitrides,[11] battery materials and the response of bacteria to high pressures.[12]

In 2015 McMillan was a panellist on Melvyn Bragg's In Our Time on BBC Radio 4.[13]

Personal life

McMillan died in London on 2 February 2022, at the age of 65.[14][15] [16]

Selected publications

  • C. A. Angell; K. L. Ngai; G. B. McKenna; P. F. McMillan; S. W. Martin (15 September 2000). "Relaxation in glassforming liquids and amorphous solids". Journal of Applied Physics. 88 (6): 3113–3157. doi:10.1063/1.1286035. ISSN 0021-8979. Wikidata Q56552594.
  • Paul F McMillan (1 September 2002). "New materials from high-pressure experiments". Nature Materials. 1 (1): 19–25. doi:10.1038/NMAT716. ISSN 1476-1122. PMID 12618843. Wikidata Q73082944.
  • P. H. Poole; T. Grande; C. A. Angell; P. F. McMillan (17 January 1997). "Polymorphic Phase Transitions in Liquids and Glasses". Science. 275 (5298): 322–323. doi:10.1126/SCIENCE.275.5298.322. ISSN 0036-8075. Wikidata Q57567948.

References

  1. [1]
    "Personal Webpage of Prof Paul McMillan". 3 September 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  2. [2]
    Meersman, F; McMillan, PF (2014). "High hydrostatic pressure: a probing tool and a necessary parameter in biophysical chemistry". Chem. Comm. 50 (7): 766–775. doi:10.1039/c3cc45844j. PMID 24286104.
  3. [3]
    James, Frank A. J. L. (5 July 2017). 'The Common Purposes of Life': Science and Society at the Royal Institution of Great Britain. Taylor & Francis. p. 380. ISBN 978-1-351-96317-6.
  4. [4]
    McMillan, Paul F (1981). A structural study of aluminosilicate glasses by Raman spectroscopy. U of Arizona.
  5. [5]
    "Brunauer Cements Award" (PDF). American Ceramic Society. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  6. [6]
    Katrusiak, Andrzej; McMillan, Paul (31 March 2004). High-Pressure Crystallography. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 978-1-4020-2102-2.
  7. [7]
    UCL (30 September 2020). "Materials for the Future". Chemistry. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  8. [8]
    McMillan, Paul F. (September 2002). "New materials from high-pressure experiments". Nature Materials. 1 (1): 19–25. Bibcode:2002NatMa...1...19M. doi:10.1038/nmat716. PMID 12618843. S2CID 43121729.
  9. [9]
    Angell, CA; Ngai, KL; McKenna, GB; McMillan, PF; Martin, SW (2000). "Relaxation in glassforming liquids and amorphous solids". J. Appl. Phys. 88 (6): 3113-3157. Bibcode:2000JAP....88.3113A. doi:10.1063/1.1286035.
  10. [10]
    Yu, P; Kirkpatrick, RJ; Poe, B; McMillan, PF; Cong, X (1999). "Structure of Calcium Silicate Hydrate (C-S-H): Near-, Mid-, and Far-Infrared Spectroscopy". J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 83 (3): 742. doi:10.1111/j.1151-2916.1999.tb01826.x.
  11. [11]
    Jorge, BA (2013). "H-2 and O-2 Evolution from Water Half-Splitting Reactions by Graphitic Carbon Nitride Materials". J. Phys. Chem. C. 117 (14): 7178. doi:10.1021/jp4009338.
  12. [12]
    Foglia, F; Hazael, R; De Meersman, F; Wilding, MC; Sakai, VG; Rogers, S; Bove, LE; Koza, MM; Moulin, M; Haertlein, M; Forsyth, VT; McMillan, PF (2019). "In Vivo Water Dynamics in Shewanella oneidensis Bacteria at High Pressure". Scientific Reports. 9 (1): 8716. Bibcode:2019NatSR...9.8716F. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-44704-3. PMC 6581952. PMID 31213614.
  13. [13]
    "The Science of Glass". BBC Sounds. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  14. [14]
    @SellaTheChemist (2 February 2022). "It is with deep grief that I tell you that our friend, colleague and teacher, Paul McMillan, died this afternoon" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  15. [15]
    Salamat, Ashkan; Hazael, Rachael (7 February 2022), Obituary on the AIRAPT webpage
  16. [16]
    Sella, Andrea; Navrotsky, Alexandra (25 April 2022). "Paul F McMillan (1956-2022)". Nature Materials. 21 (5): 490. doi:10.1038/s41563-022-01243-z. PMID 35468943. S2CID 248386014.
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