Peter Duncumb
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Peter Duncumb (born 26 January 1931) is a British physicist specialising in
X-ray microscopy An X-ray microscope uses electromagnetic radiation in the soft X-ray band to produce magnified images of objects. Since X-rays penetrate most objects, there is no need to specially prepare them for X-ray microscopy observations. Unlike visible li ...
and
microanalysis Microanalysis is the chemical identification and quantitative analysis of very small amounts of chemical substances (generally less than 10 mg or 1 ml) or very small surfaces of material (generally less than 1 cm2). One of the pioneer ...
. He is best known for his contribution to the development of the first
electron microprobe An electron microprobe (EMP), also known as an electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA) or electron micro probe analyzer (EMPA), is an analytical tool used to non-destructively determine the chemical composition of small volumes of solid materials. It ...
.


Early life and education

Duncumb was educated at
Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refound ...
. He earned his PhD in 1957, under the supervision of
Vernon Ellis Cosslett Vernon Ellis Cosslett, FRS (16 June 1908 – 21 November 1990) was a British microscopist. The eighth child (of six sons and five daughters) of Welsh cabinet maker and carpenter, later clerk of works on the estate of the Earl of Eldon at Stowe ...
.


Career

Duncumb worked at the
University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...
as a
research fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a pr ...
from 1957 until 1959. He carried out key work on the development of the scanning electron probe X-ray microanalyser, now a common tool for surface studies in most materials laboratories. His early work led to the first commercial instrument for imaging the distribution of selected chemical elements on a microscale, providing essential information for failure analysis and the development of new materials. After joining the Central Laboratories of
Tube Investments TI Group plc (formerly "Tube Investments") was a holding company for specialised engineering companies. It was based in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. It was registered as ''Tube Investments'' in 1919, combining the seamless steel tube businesses of Tu ...
in 1959, he built a second instrument, known as EMMA, combining X-ray microanalysis with
transmission electron microscopy Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is a microscopy technique in which a beam of electrons is transmitted through a specimen to form an image. The specimen is most often an ultrathin section less than 100 nm thick or a suspension on a g ...
. This made possible a finer analysis of
thin film A thin film is a layer of material ranging from fractions of a nanometer ( monolayer) to several micrometers in thickness. The controlled synthesis of materials as thin films (a process referred to as deposition) is a fundamental step in many ...
and
particulate Particulates – also known as atmospheric aerosol particles, atmospheric particulate matter, particulate matter (PM) or suspended particulate matter (SPM) – are microscopic particles of solid or liquid matter suspended in the air. The te ...
samples, and led again to commercial production. Later, he took on broader management responsibilities, retiring in 1987 after 8 years as Laboratory Director. Since 1988, he has been working as a consultant on the interpretation of X-ray spectra, and on the use of phased arrays in
ultrasonic testing Ultrasonic testing (UT) is a family of non-destructive testing techniques based on the propagation of ultrasonic waves in the object or material tested. In most common UT applications, very short ultrasonic pulse-waves with center frequencies ...
. He also served as chairman of the
Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
's Paul Instrument Fund. He is an honorary member of both the US and European
microbeam A microbeam is a narrow beam of radiation, of micrometer or sub-micrometer dimensions. Together with integrated imaging techniques, microbeams allow precisely defined quantities of damage to be introduced at precisely defined locations. Thus, the mi ...
analysis societies.


Awards and honours

In 1966, Duncumb won the Charles Vernon Boys Prize (now known as the Moseley Medal) of the
Institute of Physics The Institute of Physics (IOP) is a UK-based learned society and professional body that works to advance physics education, research and application. It was founded in 1874 and has a worldwide membership of over 20,000. The IOP is the Physic ...
for "the design and construction of the scanning electron probe system for localized
elemental analysis Elemental analysis is a process where a sample of some material (e.g., soil, waste or drinking water, bodily fluids, minerals, chemical compounds) is analyzed for its elemental and sometimes isotopic composition. Elemental analysis can be qualita ...
". He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1977. One or more of the preceding sentences may incorporate text from the royalsociety.org website where "all text published under the heading 'Biography' on Fellow profile pages is available under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License." , "Intellectual property rights" In 1996, he received the Henry Clifton Sorby Award of the International Metallographic Society. The Peter Duncumb Award for Excellence in Microanalysis, awarded yearly by the Microanalysis Society since 2007, is named in his honour.


References


External links


Peter Duncumb
Eminent Cavendish Physicists, University of Cambridge {{DEFAULTSORT:Duncumb, Peter 1931 births Living people Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Society British physicists