Colin Humphreys, Born 1941
professor of materials science and writer
Sir Colin John Humphreys, CBE FRS FREng FIMMM FInstP is a British physicist. Humphreys was educated at Luton Grammar School, Imperial College London (BSc) and Churchill College, Cambridge where he was awarded a PhD in 1969. He is the Professor of Materials Science at Queen Mary University of London. He is the former Goldsmiths' Professor of Materials Science at the University of Cambridge and the Professor of Experimental Physics at the Royal Institution in London. He has served as President of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining. His research interests include all aspects of electron microscopy and analysis, semiconductors (particularly gallium nitride), ultra-high temperature aerospace materials and superconductors. His world-leading research on gallium nitride (GaN) has resulted in a improved understanding of this material with a wide range of technological applications. In addition to its potential use within transistors, GaN emits a brilliant light that makes it ideal for use in energy-saving LEDs. Humphreys also studies the Bible when not pursuing his day-job as a materials scientist, and has published two books on biblical history.
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