Peter Gray FRS (25 August 1926 – 7 June 2012) was Professor of

Physical Chemistry Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mech ...

at the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

and subsequently

Master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and ...

.Professor Stephen Scott
Professor Peter Gray, DSc, FRSC, FRS
University of Leeds/secretariat/obituaries/

Early life and education

Gray attended Newport High School.John Griffiths
COMBUSTION PEOPLE Professor Peter Gray, FRS: 80 this year!
Gray was educated at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

where he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts in

Natural Sciences Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...

in 1946 and a PhD in

Chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

three years later.

Career

In 1955 Gray was appointed a Lecturer in

at the

. He was promoted to Reader in 1959 and to a personal chair as Professor of

in 1962. He became Head of the Department of

on the resignation of Professor Lord Dainton in 1965. His research interests included combustion flame and explosion

oscillatory Oscillation is the repetitive or periodic variation, typically in time, of some measure about a central value (often a point of equilibrium) or between two or more different states. Familiar examples of oscillation include a swinging pendulum ...

reactions and chaos in chemistry. Gray left

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

when he was elected

of his old college

Gonville and Caius College Gonville and Caius College, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges an ...

, Cambridge in 1988.University of Leeds, Obituary
/ref> He remained

until 1996 and was then a Life Fellow of the college until his death in 2012.

Awards and honours

Professor Gray's career was garlanded with many academic honours, including election as a Fellow of 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 ...

(FRS) in 1977. Gray was awarded an Honorary

DSc DSC or Dsc may refer to: Education * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dyal Sin ...

by the

in 1997.Professor Peter Gray leeds.ac.uk news article. 15 June 2012.
/ref> His nomination reads:

Personal life

With his first wife, Barbara (who was a Lecturer in

Biochemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...

at the

), Gray had four children; Christine, Andrew, David and Sally. Following her death in 1992 Gray married his second wife, Rachel, who survived him. His interests included music, hill walking and classical Russian science and maths.Gray, Peter — Natural Sciences (Physical)
. University of Cambridge

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Peter 1926 births 2012 deaths People educated at Newport High School Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge British physical chemists Fellows of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Masters of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Academics of the University of Leeds Fellows of the Royal Society Presidents of the Cambridge Philosophical Society