Christopher David Garner FRSC FRS (born 9 November 1941) is a British retired chemist, whose research work was in the growing field of Biological Inorganic Chemistry. His research primarily focussed on the role of

transition metal In chemistry, a transition metal (or transition element) is a chemical element in the d-block of the periodic table (groups 3 to 12), though the elements of group 12 (and less often group 3) are sometimes excluded. The lanthanide and actinid ...

elements in biological processes, for which he published over 400 original papers and reviews on the topic. His specific interests lie in the roles of

Molybdenum Molybdenum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mo (from Neo-Latin ''molybdaenum'') and atomic number 42. The name derived from Ancient Greek ', meaning lead, since its ores were confused with lead ores. Molybdenum minerals hav ...

and

Tungsten Tungsten (also called wolfram) is a chemical element; it has symbol W and atomic number 74. It is a metal found naturally on Earth almost exclusively in compounds with other elements. It was identified as a distinct element in 1781 and first ...

as the metal centres in various

enzyme cofactor A cofactor is a non-protein chemical compound or metallic ion that is required for an enzyme's role as a catalyst (a catalyst is a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction). Cofactors can be considered "helper molecules" that ass ...

s based on the

molybdopterin Molybdopterins are a class of cofactors found in most molybdenum-containing and all tungsten-containing enzymes. Synonyms for molybdopterin are: MPT and pyranopterin-dithiolate. The nomenclature for this biomolecule can be confusing: Molybdopte ...

molecule. As well as his research work, Garner has also been a member of the

Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society and professional association in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemistry, chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the ...

, for which he has been a member of the council for many years and served as President from 2008 to 2010.

Academic career

Garner was educated at Cheadle Hulme Warehousemen & Clerk's Orphans' School and studied for his undergraduate degree at the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...

, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree with

First Class Honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure used for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied, sometimes with significant var ...

in 1963. Under the supervision of Clive Addison subsequently earned his PhD for his work on the ''"Crystal structures of Group IV metal nitrates"'' in 1966.

Career

Following his graduation, Garner took up a post-doctoral research fellowship at the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...

for one year, before returning to the UK to take up a post as the

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Research Fellow at the

. He was then subsequently appointed as a lecturer in chemistry at 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 1968, and rose through the ranks to senior lecturer (1978), and finally appointed Professor of Inorganic Chemistry in 1984. Garner was appointed as the Head of the School of Chemistry from 1988 to 1996, and served as a member of the

University Court A university court is an administrative body of a university in the United Kingdom and other countries. In most older universities of England and Wales, the court is part of the governance structure and acts as a forum for local stakeholders from ...

from 1995 to 1999, and as a member of the

University Council A university council may be the executive body of a university's governance system, an advisory body to the university president, or something in between in authority. In the United Kingdom and many other countries, the council is responsible for a ...

from 1996 to 1999. In 1998, Garner took up the post of Professor of Biological Inorganic Chemistry at the

, a post which he held until his retirement in 2010. As such he now holds the post of

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". ...

. From 2011 to 2017 he served as Editor for 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 ...

journal, ''

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A ''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences'' is a fortnightly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the Royal Society. It publishes original research and review content in a w ...

''. Garner has also held the following posts in various establishments around the world: * Visiting Professor – University of Louisiana (1977) * Frontiers in Chemical Research Visiting Professor –

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

(1987) * Visiting Professor –

Strasbourg University The University of Strasbourg (, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. Founded in the 16th century by Johannes Sturm, it was a center of intellectual life during ...

(1990–1992) * Visiting Professor –

University of Florence The University of Florence ( Italian: ''Università degli Studi di Firenze'') (in acronym UNIFI) is an Italian public research university located in Florence, Italy. It comprises 12 schools and has around 50,000 students enrolled. History The f ...

(1995) * Visiting Professor –

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

(1998) * Visiting Professor –

Sydney University 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 ...

(2000) * Wilsmore Fellow –

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 ...

(1994) * Bye Fellow and Fellow –

Robinson College, Cambridge Robinson College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1977, it is one of the newest Oxbridge colleges and is unique in having been intended, from its inception, for both ...

(1997) * Chairperson of the ''Chemistry of Metal Ions in Biological Systems (METBIO)'' programme –

European Science Foundation The European Science Foundation (ESF) is an association of 11 member organizations devoted to scientific research in 8 European countries. ESF is an independent, non-governmental, non-profit organization that promotes science in Europe. It was e ...

(1991–1997) Discussion held during the ''METBIO'' programme resulted in the creation of the Society of Biological Inorganic Chemistry, for which Garner was the Founding President from 1996 to 1998, and also the creation of its official journal, the '' Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry''.

Awards and honours

Garner has received numerous awards and honours including: * Tilden Medal and Lectureship (1985) *

Fellowship of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

(1997) * Entered into

Who's Who A Who's Who (or Who Is Who) is a reference work consisting of biographical entries of notable people in a particular field. The oldest and best-known is the annual publication ''Who's Who (UK), Who's Who'', a reference work on contemporary promin ...

(1998) * Joseph Chatt Lectureship (1999) * Inorganic Biochemstry Award (2002) * Ludwig Mond Lectureship (2007) His nomination for the

reads:

Royal Society of Chemistry

Garner has been an active member of the

for many years, having obtained his

Chartered Chemist Chartered Chemist (CChem) is a chartered status awarded by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) in the United Kingdom, the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) in Australia, by the Ministry of Education in Italy, the Institute of Chemistr ...

(CChem) status in 1982, and being appointed as a

Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry Fellowship of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC) is one of the most prestigious awards conferred by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) in the United Kingdom. Existing Fellows include award winning scientists and Nobel prize winners. FRSC awa ...

in the same year. Garner has also held the following roles within the RSC: * President of the Dalton Division (2001–2004) * Member of the Council (2005–Present) * President of the RSC (2008–2010) Garner is also an Honorary Fellow of the Chinese Chemical Society.

Personal life

Garner was born to Chrystabel and Richard Norman Garner in 1941. Garner has two children Joseph and Katy with his wife, Pamela, whom he met at the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garner, David 1941 births Living people Alumni of the University of Nottingham British chemists Fellows of the Royal Society Presidents of the Royal Society of Chemistry Fellows of the Royal Society of Chemistry