Archibald "Archie" Howie (born 8 March 1934) is a British

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 ca ...

and Emeritus Professor at the University of Cambridge, known for his pioneering work on the interpretation of

transmission electron microscope 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 gr ...

images of crystals. Born in 1934, he attended Kirkcaldy High School and the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. He received his

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

from the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, where he subsequently took up a permanent post. He has been a fellow of Churchill College since its foundation, and was President of its

Senior Combination Room A common room is a group into which students and the academic body are organised in some universities in the United Kingdom and Ireland—particularly collegiate universities such as Oxford and Cambridge, as well as the University of Bristol ...

(SCR) until 2010. In 1965, with

Hirsch Hirsch may refer to: Places * Hirsch, Saskatchewan, Canada * Hirsch Observatory, in Troy, New York, U.S. People * Afua Hirsch (born 1981), Norwegian-born British writer, broadcaster, and former barrister * Alex Hirsch (born 1985), American anima ...

, Whelan, Pashley and Nicholson, he published the seminal text ''Electron Microscopy of Thin Crystals''. He was elected to 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, r ...

in 1978 and awarded their

Royal Medal The Royal Medal, also known as The Queen's Medal and The King's Medal (depending on the gender of the monarch at the time of the award), is a silver-gilt medal, of which three are awarded each year by the Royal Society, two for "the most important ...

in 1999. In 1992 he was awarded the Guthrie Medal and Prize. He was elected an Honorary Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

in 1995. He was head of the

Cavendish Laboratory The Cavendish Laboratory is the Department of Physics at the University of Cambridge, and is part of the School of Physical Sciences. The laboratory was opened in 1874 on the New Museums Site as a laboratory for experimental physics and is name ...

from 1989 to 1997.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howie, Archibald 1934 births Living people British physicists British materials scientists Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of Churchill College, Cambridge Microscopists Royal Medal winners Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Microscopical Society Presidents of the International Federation of Societies for Microscopy Scientists of the Cavendish Laboratory