David John Hugh Cockayne FRSFInstP (19 March 1942 – 22 December 2010) was Professor in the physical examination of materials in the Department of Materials at the
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
fullerenes
A fullerene is an allotrope of carbon whose molecules consist of carbon atoms connected by single and double bonds so as to form a closed or partially closed mesh, with fused rings of five to six atoms. The molecules may have hollow sphere- ...
and
semiconductors
A semiconductor is a material with electrical conductivity between that of a conductor and an insulator. Its conductivity can be modified by adding impurities (" doping") to its crystal structure. When two regions with different doping levels ...
.
Biography
Cockayne was born in
Balham
Balham () is an List of areas of London, area in south-west London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, with small parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Lambeth. It has been settled since Saxon times and appears in t ...
, London, the second of three children of John Henry Cockayne, policeman and later staff manager, and his wife, Ivy, née Hatton. In 1950, when he was 8, the family sailed from
Tilbury
Tilbury is a port town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. The present town was established as separate settlement in the late 19th century, on land that was mainly part of Chadwell St Mary. It contains a Tilbury Fort, 16th century fort ...
on the
Otranto
Otranto (, , ; ; ; ; ) is a coastal town, port and ''comune'' in the province of Lecce (Apulia, Italy), in a fertile region once famous for its breed of horses. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy").
...
, bound for
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
; their new home was to be in the
Geelong
Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...
area of Victoria. In 1952 they moved to a newly-built house in Geelong, and Cockayne attended a new school, from where he was awarded a scholarship to
Geelong Grammar School
Geelong Grammar School is a private Anglican co-educational boarding and day school. The school's main campus is located in Corio on the northern outskirts of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, overlooking Corio Bay and Limeburners Bay.
Establ ...
in 1953, where he excelled in chemistry, physics and mathematics.
In 1961 Cockayne enrolled at the
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...
to read physics; he graduated in 1964 with first-class honours. He went on to do research on electron diffraction for an MSc, again gaining a first in 1966. He was then awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship to read for a DPhil at
Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...
.
David joined the Department of Metallurgy in Oxford in September 1966 to conduct research on electron microscope images of defects in crystal lattices, under the supervision of Dr M J Whelan. He was awarded a DPhil in 1970.
At the age of 32, Cockayne took up the post of director of the
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...
Electron Microscope Unit (EMU) in June 1974. He also held the position of associate professor. He was promoted to full professor in 1986, and then to a personal chair (Professor in Physics (Electron Microscopy and Microanalysis)) in 1992. He built up an important research base at Sydney; with David McKenzie he developed a high-precision electron diffraction technique within an electron microscope to study the structure of amorphous materials.
Cockrayne moved back to Oxford in 2000, to take up the post of Professor in the Physical Examination of Materials, at the Department of Materials. He also became Professorial Fellow at Linacre College. In the department of materials he “built up an outstanding electron microscopy group”, and followed up studies started in Sydney on the properties of nanometer-sized crystals (quantum dots) insemiconductor alloys.
The man and his family
“Cockayne was an inspirational lecturer and mentor. He cared deeply about research, teaching, and university administration, and brought lucidity and commitment in equal measure to all three.” His interests included “theatre, music, literature, photography, travel, and bushwalking”.
When he was an undergraduate at Trinity College, Melbourne University he met Jean Kerr, who enrolled a year after Cockrayne and was reading French and English honours. She was resident in the next-door hall, and they got to know each other early in 1962 and became close friends in 1964 Shortly before he left for Oxford in September 1966, he proposed to Jean and they announced their engagement. She travelled to England in January 1967, and they were married in
Shilton, Oxfordshire
Shilton is a village and civil parish about northwest of Carterton, Oxfordshire. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 626.
Geography
Shilton village is on Shill Brook: a stream that rises southwest of Burford, flows through Shi ...
on 28 July 1967. The couple had three children: Sophie was born in Oxford in 1973; Tamsin in Sydney in 1975; and James in Sydney in 1977.
David Cockayne died from lung cancer on 22 December 2010. He was cremated in Oxford following a funeral service at the
University Church of St Mary the Virgin
The University Church of St Mary the Virgin (St Mary's or SMV for short) is an Anglican church in Oxford situated on the north side of the High Street. It is the centre from which the University of Oxford grew and its parish consists almost excl ...
on 5 January 2011. He wrote his own eulogy to give himself 'the pleasure of knowing what will have been said at my funeral'.