Daniel Joseph Bradley
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Daniel Joseph Bradley (18 January 1928 – 7 February 2010) was an Irish
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 ...
, and Emeritus Professor of Optical Electronics, at
Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...
.


Early life and education

Born on 18 January 1928, he was one of four surviving children of John and Margaret Bradley, Lecky Road,
Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...
. He left school to work as a telegraph boy but returned to education at St Columb's College. Having trained as a teacher at St Mary's College,
Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
,
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
, he qualified in 1947. While teaching in a primary school in Derry he studied for a degree in mathematics as an external student of the
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...
, and was awarded a degree in 1953. Moving to London where he taught mathematics in a grammar school, he decided to register for an evening course at
Birkbeck College Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a public research university located in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. Established in 1823 as the London Mechanics' ...
. His first choice was mathematics but as he already had a degree in the subject the admissions staff suggested that he should study physics, which they said was "a bit like mathematics". In 1957, after four years of part-time study, he was awarded a
Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...
degree in physics by Birkbeck, achieving the highest marks in his final exams in the University of London overall. He next joined Royal Holloway College as an assistant lecturer and simultaneously enrolled as a PhD student, working on
Fabry–Pérot interferometer In optics, a Fabry–Pérot interferometer (FPI) or etalon is an optical cavity made from two parallel reflecting surfaces (i.e.: thin mirrors). Optical waves can pass through the optical cavity only when they are in resonance with it. It is ...
etalon-based high-resolution
spectroscopy Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets electromagnetic spectra. In narrower contexts, spectroscopy is the precise study of color as generalized from visible light to all bands of the electromagnetic spectrum. Spectro ...
supervised by Samuel Tolansky, and received a PhD in 1961.


Career and research

Bradley was a pioneer of
laser physics Laser science or laser physics is a branch of optics that describes the theory and practice of lasers. Laser science is principally concerned with quantum electronics, laser construction, optical cavity design, the physics of producing a po ...
, and his work on the development of ultra-fast pulsed lasers added a new and vitally important element to the capabilities of this new type of light source. In particular, working on dye lasers, he produced pulses of light as short as one picosecond – one picosecond is to a second as a second is to 31,800 years – and his work paved the way for the completely new field of non-linear optical interactions. In addition, he inspired a new generation of laser scientists in Ireland and the UK, many of whom are international leaders in their fields. Appointed to a lectureship in the physics department at
Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...
, he set up a research programme in UV solar spectroscopy using rocket technology to reach high altitudes. In 1963 he began work in laser physics but returned to Royal Holloway College as a reader one year later. In 1966 he was appointed professor and head of department at
Queen's University, Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...
. There he quickly established a space research group of international standing to do high-resolution solar spectroscopy. He attracted significant funding from a variety of agencies, allowing him to build his department into one of the world's leading laser research centres, involving a total of 65 scientists. However, he left Belfast because of fears for his family's safety as political violence escalated in the early 1970s amidst
The Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...
. He returned in 1973 to Imperial College London to a chair in laser physics, and headed a group in optical physics, laser physics and space optics. He was head of the Physics department from 1976 to 1980 but he was frustrated by cutbacks and a rule governing the ratio of senior to junior positions, one consequence of which was that he was unable to maintain a long-established chair in optical design. He was also critical of the college administration's handling of some departmental grant applications. He resigned in 1980 and moved to
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
. Among his many lasting contributions to laser research in the UK was the setting up of one of the world's leading research facilities for laser research, the Central Laser Facility at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL). Arriving at
Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...
, he decided the time was ripe to move on from laser research and development into laser applications. In 1982, with Dr John Kelly, a chemist, and Dr David McConnell, a geneticist, he formed a team which won funding for a project using laser techniques to explore the structure of organic molecules like DNA and proteins. Unfortunately, however, his work at Trinity was cut short by ill health and he retired in 1984. But his research on semiconductor lasers was carried on (by researchers including Paul Phelan, John McInerney, James O'Gorman and John Hegarty), this work on developing widely tuneable lasers for optical communications systems continues. In the course of a relatively short academic career he supervised over 60 PhD students, one of whom described his former mentor as an "inspiration" and a "great role-model for any researcher"; another, his last (Paul Phelan) fully confirms this.


Awards and honours

A member of the Royal Irish Academy, he was Fellow Emeritus of Trinity College Dublin, and held fellowships of the Royal Society, Optical Society of America and
Institute of Physics The Institute of Physics (IOP) is a UK-based not-for-profit learned society and professional body that works to advance physics education, physics research, research and applied physics, application. It was founded in 1874 and has a worldwide ...
. . He received several awards in recognition of his work including: * Young Medal and Prize from the
Institute of Physics The Institute of Physics (IOP) is a UK-based not-for-profit learned society and professional body that works to advance physics education, physics research, research and applied physics, application. It was founded in 1874 and has a worldwide ...
(1975) *
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 are given for "the mo ...
from 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 ...
(1982) * Charles Hard Townes Medal from Optical Society of America (1989) * Cunningham Medal from the
Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the natural sciences, arts, literature, and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned society and one of its le ...
(2001) * Honorary degrees from the
University of Ulster Ulster University (; Ulster Scots: or ), legally the University of Ulster, is a multi-campus public research university located in Northern Ireland. It is often referred to informally and unofficially as Ulster, or by the abbreviation UU. It i ...
(1983) and
Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...
(1986)


Personal life

He married Winefride O'Connor and had five children: daughter Mairead and sons Sean, Donal Bradley, Martin and Ronan.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradley, Daniel Joseph Academics of Imperial College London Academics of Queen's University Belfast Academics of Royal Holloway, University of London British physicists Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Institute of Physics Fellows of Trinity College Dublin Irish physicists Members of the Royal Irish Academy Royal Medal winners 2010 deaths 1928 births People educated at St Columb's College