Sir James Woodham Menter, (22 August 1921 – 18 July 2006) was a British physicist. He was born in

Teynham Teynham ( ) is a small village and civil parish in the borough of Swale in Kent, England. The parish lies between the towns of Sittingbourne and Faversham, immediately north of the A2 road, and includes the hamlet of Conyer on an inlet of the ...

, Kent and was educated at the

Dover Grammar School for Boys Dover Grammar School for Boys (DGSB) is a selective secondary school located in Dover, United Kingdom, whose origins can be traced back to the Education Act 1902 (the 'Balfour Act'). Originally founded as the Dover County School for Boys and G ...

, where he won a scholarship to study Natural Sciences at

Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Peterhouse has around 300 undergraduate and 175 graduate stud ...

. His studies were interrupted by the Second World War, during which he was engaged on trials of Under Water Sound Detection systems at the Admiralty Research Station in Fairlie, Ayrshire. He completed his degree in 1945 and did a PhD on the subject of the use of the electron microscope to examine the micro-topography of surfaces. In 1961 he went to work at the

Tube Investments TI Group plc (formerly "Tube Investments") was a holding company for specialised engineering companies. It was based in Abingdon, Oxfordshire and was listed on the London Stock Exchange, at one point being a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. ...

Research Laboratory at Hinxton Hall, Cambridgeshire. There he was able to acquire the latest and most powerful

Electron Microscope An electron microscope is a microscope that uses a beam of electrons as a source of illumination. It uses electron optics that are analogous to the glass lenses of an optical light microscope to control the electron beam, for instance focusing it ...

then available, the Siemens Elmiscop 1, and soon demonstrated its potential to determine the atomic structure of crystalline solids by resolving the structure of platinum phthalocyanine. In 1965 he was appointed Director of Research and Development at the establishment and in 1968 made a member of the main board of the company. He was elected a

Fellow 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 ...

in 1966, becoming Vice-President and Treasurer of the society. He was also President of the newly renamed

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 ...

for 1970–1972 and knighted in 1973. In 1974 he was made an

Honorary Fellow of the Royal Microscopical Society The Royal Microscopical Society (RMS) is a learned society for the promotion of microscopy. It was founded in 1839 as the Microscopical Society of London making it the oldest organisation of its kind in the world. In 1866, the Society gained it ...

. He left TI in 1976 to become Principal of

Queen Mary College, London Queen Mary University of London (QMUL, or informally QM, and formerly Queen Mary and Westfield College) is a public research university in Mile End, East London, England. It is a member institution of the federal University of London. Today, ...

, holding the position until 1986. He died in Aberfeldy, Perthshire in 2006. He had married Jean Whyte-Smith and had two sons and a daughter.

Honours and awards

*1966

*1954

Beilby Medal and Prize The Beilby Medal and Prize is awarded annually to a scientist or engineer for work that has exceptional practical significance in chemical engineering, applied materials science, energy efficiency or a related field. The prize is jointly administe ...

*1973

Bessemer Gold Medal The Bessemer Gold Medal is awarded annually by the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) "for outstanding services to the steel industry, to the inventor or designer of any significant innovation in the process employed in the manufact ...

of the

Iron and Steel Institute The Iron and Steel Institute was a British association originally organized by the iron trade of the north of England. Its object was the discussion of practical and scientific questions connected with the manufacture of iron and steel. History The ...

*1973 Knighthood *1977

Glazebrook Medal The Richard Glazebrook Medal and Prize is awarded annually by the Institute of Physics to recognise leadership in the field of physics. It was established in 1966 and named in honour of Richard Glazebrook, Sir Richard T. Glazebrook, the first pre ...

of the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Menter, James Woodham, Sir 1921 births 2006 deaths People from the Borough of Swale People educated at Dover Grammar School for Boys Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge British physicists Presidents of the Institute of Physics Fellows of the Royal Society Knights Bachelor Honorary Fellows of the Royal Microscopical Society Bessemer Gold Medal