Professor Sir
John Brian Pendry
Imperial College London
Physicist; Educator
Area
Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Specialty
Engineering and Technology
Elected
2012
International Honorary Member
Contributed to the fields of optics, electromagnetism, and surface science. Early on, developed theories for several experimental probes that are now standard tools in surface science, including: low-energy electron diffraction (LEED), where the Pendry R-factor is used for quantitative comparison of theory to experiment; extended X-ray fine structure (EXAFS); inverse photoemission and angle-resolved photoemission. Turned to optics and electromagnetism in the 1990s, inspiring a virtual revolution of those fields. Focused research on metamaterials-materials with electromagnetic/optical properties not found in nature, based on the mesoscopic substructure of the material, rather than its intrinsic properties. Notable contributions include: showing that reduced dimensionality metal-based materials can possess negative magnetic permeabilities at microwave and optical frequencies, demonstrating that negative permeability and permittivity materials can be combined to realize left-handed or negative refractive index materials, formulating the concept of a negative index perfect lens that can focus light well below the diffraction limit of optics, and electromagnetic cloaking. Honors include Fellow of the Royal Society and the Institute of Physics, a Knighthood for services to science (2008), the Royal Medal of the Royal Society (2006), and the Newton Medal and Prize of the Institute of Physics (2013),
Foreign Associate US National Academy of Sciences (2013), Foreign Member Norwegian Academy of Sciences (2014), Kavli prize for nanotechnology (2014), Dan David Prize for nanotechnology (2016)
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