John H. Beynon FRS (29 December 1923 – 24 August 2015) was a Welsh

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

and

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

known for his work in

mass spectrometry Mass spectrometry (MS) is an analytical technique that is used to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ions. The results are presented as a ''mass spectrum'', a plot of intensity as a function of the mass-to-charge ratio. Mass spectrometry is used ...

Education and military service

Beynon was born in the Welsh coal-mining town of Ystalyfera and was the older of two brothers. He went on to attend the University of Wales at Swansea (now Swansea University) in the early 1940s at the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He received a B.S. in physics in 1943. He did not attend graduate school, instead deciding to join the Fighting Vehicles Research Establishment where he served between 1943 and 1947 developing tank

fire-control system A fire-control system (FCS) is a number of components working together, usually a gun data computer, a director and radar, which is designed to assist a ranged weapon system to target, track, and hit a target. It performs the same task as a hum ...

Career in industry

Between the year 1947 and 1969, Beynon was Manager of Physics and Physical, Polymer and Analytical Chemistry at

Imperial Chemical Industries Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) was a British Chemical industry, chemical company. It was, for much of its history, the largest manufacturer in Britain. Its headquarters were at Millbank in London. ICI was listed on the London Stock Exchange ...

. Between 1947 and 1950, Beynon constructed what was to become the first mass spectrometer designed to study organic compounds unrelated to petroleum. He subsequently collaborated with

Metropolitan-Vickers Metropolitan-Vickers, Metrovick, or Metrovicks, was a British heavy electrical engineering company of the early-to-mid 20th century formerly known as British Westinghouse. Highly diversified, it was particularly well known for its industrial el ...

to produce the MS8 mass spectrometer, a prototype of the

Associated Electrical Industries Associated Electrical Industries (AEI) was a British holding company formed in 1928 through the merger of British Thomson-Houston (BTH) and Metropolitan-Vickers electrical engineering companies. In 1967 AEI was acquired by GEC, to create the UK ...

(AEI) MS9 mass spectrometer. Beynon was made a senior research associate in 1964 which allowed him the opportunity to carry out his own research. He was a Boomer Memorial Fellow at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

in 1965.

Academic career

Beynon took a position as Professor of Chemistry and Director of the Mass Spectrometry Center at

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

in 1968. In 1974 Beynon accepted a position as Royal Society Research Professor and Director of the Mass Spectrometry Research Unit at Swansea University.

Awards and honours

Beynon received the

Sigma Xi Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is an international non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a faculty member and graduate students in 1886 and is one of the oldest ...

Research Award, Purdue University in 1973, the Marice F. Hasler Award in 1979, the

Jozef Stefan Josef Stefan (; 24 March 1835 – 7 January 1893) was a Carinthian Slovene physicist, mathematician, and poet of the Austrian Empire. Life and work Stefan was born in the village of St. Peter (Slovene: ) on the outskirts of Klagenfurt) to A ...

Medal in 1980, the Medal of the Serbian Chemical Society in 1981, the Techmart Trophy of the British Technology Group in 1984, the Jan Marc Marci Medal, Czechoslovak Spectroscopic Society in 1984, the

International Mass Spectrometry Society The International Mass Spectrometry Foundation (IMSF) is a non-profit scientific organization in the field of mass spectrometry. It operates the International Mass Spectrometry Society, which consists of 37 member societies and sponsors the Inter ...

Thomson Medal in 1985, the

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all ...

Field and Franklin Award for Outstanding Work in Mass Spectrometry in 1987, the British Mass Spectrometry Society

Aston Medal The Aston Medal is awarded by the British Mass Spectrometry Society to individuals who have worked in the United Kingdom and have made outstanding contributions to our understanding of the biological, chemical, engineering, mathematical, medical, ...

in 1998, and the Italian Mass Spectrometry Society Gold Medal in 1990. He was the Founder chairman British Mass Spectrometry Society (1960), a founding member of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry (1967), and Founder President of the European Mass Spectrometry Society (1993). Beynon was elected to the Royal Society in 1971. He authored over 350 scientific publications. and several books on mass spectrometry. In 1987, Beynon was founding editor-in-chief of the journal ''

Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry ''Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry'' (''RCM'') is a biweekly peer-reviewed scientific journal published since 1987 by John Wiley & Sons. It covers research on all aspects of mass spectrometry. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'' ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beynon, John H. Mass spectrometrists 1923 births 2015 deaths Fellows of the Royal Society Thomson Medal recipients Welsh chemists Academics of Swansea University Welsh physicists

Education and military service

Career in industry

Academic career

Awards and honours

See also

References