Walter Eric Spear
Encyclopedia
Walter Eric Spear FRSE
PhD
FRS
FInstP (20 January 1921 - 21 February 2008) was a German physicist noted for his pioneering work to help develop large area electronics and thin film displays. He was born in Frankfurt to a Jewish father and a Lutheran mother; by the time he finished his school examinations in 1938 life for Jews and people associated with Jews was becoming difficult, and the family moved to London
. Wanting to pursue a scientific career Spear attended evening classes for the University of London entrance examination, which he passed before the family were interred on the Isle of Man as suspected Axis sympathisers. They were released, and Spear joined the Royal Pioneer Corps
in 1940, later moving to the Royal Artillery
where he became a Bombardier before being demobilized in 1946. After returning to London he took an External London Physics Degree at Regent Street Polytechnic
. Following graduation he began work on a PhD at Birkbeck College London in the Crystallography Research Department under Werner Ehrenberg; due to lack of financial support they had to cobble together their own equipment or use captured German apparatus.
He graduated in 1950, but obtained a Research Fellowship that allowed him to stay there to do additional work. He left Birkbeck in 1953 to take up a position at University College, Leicester, where he did research on amorphous selenium films. He left Leicester in 1968 after being offered the Harris Chair of Physics at the University of Dundee
. In 1972 he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
, in 1976 he was awarded the Europhysics Award of the European Physical Society
and in 1977 the Max Born Medal by the Institute of Physics
. In 1980 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London and awarded the Makdougal-Brisbane Prize of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. In 1988 he was awarded the Rank Prize, and the same year presented the Royal Society Bakerian Lecture
. In 1990 he was awarded their Rumford Medal
, and he retired soon afterwards.
. The work carried out by Spear and LeComber and their research team in this field drew great interest and led to the creation of the amorphous film silicon transistor. It was this innovation that directly led to LCD technology and to the eventual development of technologies such as flat screen TVs and solar panels.. While at Dundee they also established the Amorphous Materials Research Group which was devoted to the study of non-crystalline solids.
When Walter Spear retired in 1988 he was succeeded in the Harris Chair by Peter LeComber. However LeComber died suddenly in 1992. LeComber's death effectively marked the end of Spear's active research career.
Royal Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity, operating on a wholly independent and non-party-political basis and providing public benefit throughout Scotland...
PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
FRS
FRS
-Education:* Frontier Regional School, a regional school located in South Deerfield, Massachusetts-Government:*FRS 567 states that, an accountant shall perfom his/ her duty with due care...
FInstP (20 January 1921 - 21 February 2008) was a German physicist noted for his pioneering work to help develop large area electronics and thin film displays. He was born in Frankfurt to a Jewish father and a Lutheran mother; by the time he finished his school examinations in 1938 life for Jews and people associated with Jews was becoming difficult, and the family moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Wanting to pursue a scientific career Spear attended evening classes for the University of London entrance examination, which he passed before the family were interred on the Isle of Man as suspected Axis sympathisers. They were released, and Spear joined the Royal Pioneer Corps
Royal Pioneer Corps
The Royal Pioneer Corps was a British Army combatant corps used for light engineering tasks.The Royal Pioneer Corps was raised on 17 October 1939 as the Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps. It was renamed the Pioneer Corps on 22 November 1940...
in 1940, later moving to the Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
where he became a Bombardier before being demobilized in 1946. After returning to London he took an External London Physics Degree at Regent Street Polytechnic
University of Westminster
The University of Westminster is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom. Its origins go back to the foundation of the Royal Polytechnic Institution in 1838, and it was awarded university status in 1992.The university's headquarters and original campus are based on Regent...
. Following graduation he began work on a PhD at Birkbeck College London in the Crystallography Research Department under Werner Ehrenberg; due to lack of financial support they had to cobble together their own equipment or use captured German apparatus.
He graduated in 1950, but obtained a Research Fellowship that allowed him to stay there to do additional work. He left Birkbeck in 1953 to take up a position at University College, Leicester, where he did research on amorphous selenium films. He left Leicester in 1968 after being offered the Harris Chair of Physics at the University of Dundee
University of Dundee
The University of Dundee is a university based in the city and Royal burgh of Dundee on eastern coast of the central Lowlands of Scotland and with a small number of institutions elsewhere....
. In 1972 he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Royal Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity, operating on a wholly independent and non-party-political basis and providing public benefit throughout Scotland...
, in 1976 he was awarded the Europhysics Award of the European Physical Society
European Physical Society
The European Physical Society is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote physics and physicists in Europe. Formally established in 1968, its membership includes the national physical societies of 41 countries, and some 3200 individual members. The Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft,...
and in 1977 the Max Born Medal by the Institute of Physics
Institute of Physics
The Institute of Physics is a scientific charity devoted to increasing the practice, understanding and application of physics. It has a worldwide membership of around 40,000....
. In 1980 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London and awarded the Makdougal-Brisbane Prize of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. In 1988 he was awarded the Rank Prize, and the same year presented the Royal Society Bakerian Lecture
Bakerian Lecture
The Bakerian Lecture is a prize lecture of the Royal Society, a lecture on physical sciences.In 1775 Henry Baker left £100 for a spoken lecture by a Fellow on such part of natural history or experimental philosophy as the Society shall determine....
. In 1990 he was awarded their Rumford Medal
Rumford Medal
The Rumford Medal is awarded by the Royal Society every alternating year for "an outstandingly important recent discovery in the field of thermal or optical properties of matter made by a scientist working in Europe". First awarded in 1800, it was created after a 1796 donation of $5000 by the...
, and he retired soon afterwards.
Partnership with Peter LeComber
It was while working at Leicester, that Spear first came into contact with a student named Peter LeComber (1941-1992) with whom he would work closely with throughout his career. LeComber came with Spear to Dundee, and together they would become famed for their joint research into the properties of amorphous siliconAmorphous silicon
Amorphous silicon is the non-crystalline allotropic form of silicon. It can be deposited in thin films at low temperatures onto a variety of substrates, offering some unique capabilities for a variety of electronics.-Description:...
. The work carried out by Spear and LeComber and their research team in this field drew great interest and led to the creation of the amorphous film silicon transistor. It was this innovation that directly led to LCD technology and to the eventual development of technologies such as flat screen TVs and solar panels.. While at Dundee they also established the Amorphous Materials Research Group which was devoted to the study of non-crystalline solids.
When Walter Spear retired in 1988 he was succeeded in the Harris Chair by Peter LeComber. However LeComber died suddenly in 1992. LeComber's death effectively marked the end of Spear's active research career.