Brian Harford Robinson (24 April 1940 – 30 August 2016) was a New Zealand

inorganic chemist An inorganic compound is typically a chemical compound that lacks carbon–hydrogen bonds⁠that is, a compound that is not an organic compound. The study of inorganic compounds is a subfield of chemistry known as ''inorganic chemistry''. Inorgan ...

. He is noted for his contribution to

cluster chemistry Nanoclusters are atomically precise, crystalline materials most often existing on the 0-2 nanometer scale. They are often considered kinetically stable intermediates that form during the synthesis of comparatively larger materials such as semic ...

and the design of

organometallic compounds Organometallic chemistry is the study of organometallic compounds, chemical compounds containing at least one chemical bond between a carbon atom of an organic molecule and a metal, including alkali, alkaline earth, and transition metals, an ...

with

biomedical Biomedicine (also referred to as Western medicine, mainstream medicine or conventional medicine)

applications.

Early life and education

Born in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

on 24 April 1940, Robinson was the son of Jack Robinson and Lurline Robinson (née Cross). He was educated at

Christchurch Boys' High School Christchurch Boys' High School, often referred to as CBHS, is a single sex state secondary school in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is situated on a site between the suburbs of Riccarton, New Zealand, Riccarton and Fendalton, to the west of ce ...

, and then studied at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...

, graduating

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

with second-class honours in chemistry in 1962. He completed a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

at the same institution in 1964. His thesis, titled ''Studies in the coordination chemistry of certain transition metals'', elucidated the first structure of a

cluster compound Nanoclusters are atomically precise, crystalline materials most often existing on the 0-2 nanometer scale. They are often considered kinetically stable intermediates that form during the synthesis of comparatively larger materials such as semic ...

and its unusual delocalised bonding. On 12 May 1962, Robinson married Judith Rae, and they went on to have four children.

Academic and research career

After periods of post-doctoral research at the

University of Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a public university, public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick un ...

and the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

in 1965 and 1966, Robinson was a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry at the

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

from 1967 to 2006. He became a professor in 1985 and the Mellor Professor of Chemistry in 1996, and served as the head of the Department of Chemistry from 1986 to 1998. When he retired in 2006 he was made a

professor emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

. Building on his doctoral research, Robinson proposed that

metal carbonyl cluster In chemistry, a metal carbonyl cluster is a compound that contains two or more metal atoms linked in part by metal–metal bonds and containing carbon monoxide (CO) as the exclusive or predominant ligand. The area is a subfield of metal carbonyl che ...

s could participate in

electron transfer Electron transfer (ET) occurs when an electron relocates from an atom, ion, or molecule, to another such chemical entity. ET describes the mechanism by which electrons are transferred in redox reactions. Electrochemical processes are ET reactio ...

reactions, and demonstrated that clusters are able to be reversibly

reduced Reduction, reduced, or reduce may refer to: Science and technology Chemistry * Reduction (chemistry), part of a reduction-oxidation (redox) reaction in which atoms have their oxidation state changed. ** Organic redox reaction, a redox reacti ...

. Other research areas that he pursued included the design of organometallic compounds for use in biomedical research, and the development of

molecular switch A molecular switch is a molecule that can be switched between two or more stable or Metastability, metastable states with the use of any external (exogenous) or internal (endogenous) stimuli, such as changes in pH, light, temperature, an electri ...

es.

Later life and death

Following his retirement, Robinson continued to be an active researcher, including work to develop a post-surgical protective gel based on

chitosan Chitosan is a linear polysaccharide composed of randomly distributed β-(1→4)-linked D-glucosamine (deacetylated unit) and ''N''-acetyl-D-glucosamine (acetylated unit). It is made by treating the chitin shells of shrimp and other crusta ...

from squid. The resulting product was sold to American medical technology company

Medtronic Medtronic plc is an American-Irish medical device company. The company's legal and executive headquarters are in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, while its operational headquarters are in Minneapolis, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Medtronic rebased to I ...

in 2012. In 2013, Robinson became chair of the board of the Dunedin branch of the

University of the Third Age The University of the Third Age (U3A), is an international movement whose aims are the education and stimulation of mainly retired members of the community — those in their third 'age' of life. There is no universally accepted model for the U ...

. Robinson died in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

on 30 August 2016.

Honours and awards

In 1999 Robinson was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned or professional societies, the term refers ...

. In 2010 he was awarded a

Marsden Medal The Marsden Medal is a yearly award given by the New Zealand Association of Scientists. It is named after Sir Ernest Marsden and honours "a lifetime of outstanding service to the cause or profession of science, in recognition of service rendere ...

by the

New Zealand Association of Scientists The New Zealand Association of Scientists is an independent association for scientists in New Zealand. It was founded in 1941 as the New Zealand Association of Scientific Workers, and renamed in 1954.Gregory, G., 2013. Not to be forgotten: New ...

, in recognition of his lifetime contribution to science. He was also a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry, and the Society of Perfumers and Flavourists. An active

Rotarian Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and pe ...

, Robinson was a recipient of the Paul Harris Fellowship for community service in 2004.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Brian 1940 births 2016 deaths Scientists from Christchurch People educated at Christchurch Boys' High School University of Canterbury alumni New Zealand chemists Inorganic chemists Academic staff of the University of Otago Fellows of the Royal Society of New Zealand Fellows of the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry