Tony Turner (academic)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Professor Anthony Peter Francis Turner, FRSC, usually known as Tony Turner, is a British academic specialising in the fields of
biosensors A biosensor is an analytical device, used for the detection of a chemical substance, that combines a biological component with a physicochemical detector. The ''sensitive biological element'', e.g. tissue, microorganisms, organelles, cell rece ...
and
bioelectronics Bioelectronics is a field of research in the convergence of biology and electronics. Definitions At the first C.E.C. Workshop, in Brussels in November 1991, bioelectronics was defined as 'the use of biological materials and biological archi ...
.


Biography

Professor Anthony (Tony) Turner is an
Emeritus Professor ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who 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". In some c ...
of
Cranfield University Cranfield University is a postgraduate-only public research university in the United Kingdom that specialises in science, engineering, design, technology and management. Cranfield was founded as the College of Aeronautics (CoA) in 1946. Throug ...
in
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, where he was previously the Distinguished Professor of Biotechnology (until 2010) and Principal of Cranfield University at
Silsoe Silsoe is a village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. The village used to be on the main A6 road but a bypass around the village was opened in 1981 at a cost of £1.6m. History Origin The village name is derived from the Danish w ...
. He remained Innovations Director for Cranfield Ventures Ltd (until 2014), with responsibility for licensing and spin offs from Cranfield University. He joined
Linköping University Linköping University (LiU; ) is a public university, public research university based in Linköping, Sweden. Originally established in 1969, it was granted full university status in 1975 and is one of Sweden's largest academic institutions. T ...
(Sweden) in 2010, to help re-establish the university in the field of Biosensors and Bioelectronics, but retired the end of 2018 to focus on translational research and technology transfer in the Skåne region of Southern Sweden. He finally retired completely from working life in July 2021. In 1996, he was elected
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 ...
, which awarded him the Theophilus Redwood Medal in 2011 for his outstanding contribution to analytical science and especially for "his pioneering work which has led to the development of home blood glucose monitoring technology". He received a higher doctorate from the
University of Kent The University of Kent (formerly the University of Kent at Canterbury, abbreviated as UKC) is a Collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom. The university was granted its roya ...
at
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
in 2001 for his "outstanding contribution to biosensors" and was presented with an honorary doctorate for his "contribution to higher education" by Bedfordshire University in 2008. He was elected as a Foreign Associate of the
National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. It is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), along with the National Academ ...
in the USA, in 2006, for his exceptional contribution to "glucose sensors, environmental monitors and synthetic recognition molecules" and elected to the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA) in 2013. In 2016, he was awarded the Ukraine’s highest academic distinction, the Vernadsky Gold Medal from the
National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine The National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU; , ; ''NAN Ukrainy'') is a self-governing state-funded organization in Ukraine that is the main center of development of Science and technology in Ukraine, science and technology by coordinatin ...
, for his "outstanding achievements in the field of bioelectronics", and in the same year, the Datta Medal by the
Federation of European Biochemical Societies The Federation of the European Biochemical Societies (FEBS) is an international scientific society promoting activities in biochemistry, molecular biology and related research areas in Europe and neighbouring regions. It was founded in 1964 and inc ...
. He helped found the UK’s first Biotechnology Centre in 1981 at
Cranfield University Cranfield University is a postgraduate-only public research university in the United Kingdom that specialises in science, engineering, design, technology and management. Cranfield was founded as the College of Aeronautics (CoA) in 1946. Throug ...
. There he led the Biosensors Group that went on to develop, in collaboration with
Oxford University The University of Oxford is a 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 second-oldest continuously operating u ...
, a biosensor that transformed the lives of people with diabetes. The principle they established, of using a mediator in a disposable electrochemical glucose biosensor, became the technology of choice for this US$15 billion a year industry. He played a major role in consolidating the field of biosensors as an academic discipline by co-founding the ''Journal of Biosensors'' (Elsevier) in 1985 (renamed the ''Journal of Biosensors and Bioelectronics'' in 1991), publishin
the first text book on Biosensors
in 1987 and establishing th
World Congress on Biosensors
in 1990. He edited Biosensors and Bioelectronics until 2019 (and remains Founding Editor-In-Chief) and was Executive Chair of the World Congress until 2021. His team has been ranked in the top ten in the world for biosensor development by a variety of international commentators. In academic circles, his name is synonymous with the field of Biosensors, but he has also specialised in leveraging IP and driven numerous biosensor start-ups over the past four decades.


Publications

Professor Turner has over 750 publications and patents in the field of biosensors and biomimetic sensors and a G.S. (2025) h-index of 99, with his most popular paper receiving over 2,700 citations.


References


Personal page @Cranfield University
/h1>

External links

* World Congress on Biosensor

* Biosensors and Bioelectronic

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Tony Year of birth missing (living people) Biosensors Biotechnologists English expatriates in Sweden Academic staff of Linköping University Academics of Cranfield University Living people Foreign associates of the National Academy of Engineering