Leon Phillips (chemist)


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Leon Francis Phillips (14 July 1935 – 24 September 2023) was a New Zealand physical chemist who specialised in the gas-liquid interface and atmospheric chemistry.

Leon Phillips

Born

Leon Francis Phillips


14 July 1935

Thames, New Zealand

Died24 September 2023 (aged 88)

Christchurch, New Zealand

Alma materCanterbury University College
University of Cambridge
AwardsHector Medal (1979)
Scientific career
FieldsPhysical chemistry
InstitutionsUniversity of Canterbury

Born in Thames on 14 July 1935, Phillips was educated at Westport Technical College and Christchurch Boys' High School.[1] He studied at Canterbury University College, from where he graduated with an MSc with first-class honours in 1958.[2] After a PhD at the University of Cambridge and post-doctoral research at McGill University, he returned to lecture at Canterbury, rising to the rank of professor in 1966.[3]

In 1968, Phillips was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand,[4] and in 1979 he won the society's Hector Medal.[5]

In 1959, Phillips married Pamela Anne Johnstone, and the couple went on to have two children.[1] He died in Christchurch on 24 September 2023, at the age of 88.[6][7]

  1. ^ a b Traue, J. E., ed. (1978). Who's Who in New Zealand (11th ed.). Wellington: Reed. p. 220. ISBN 0-589-01113-8.
  2. ^ "NZ university graduates 1870–1961: P". Retrieved 3 October 2014.
  3. ^ "Photochemistry – the clouds of Venus". Alert Newsletter (173). Royal Society of New Zealand. 26 April 2001. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  4. ^ "The Academy: P–R". Royal Society of New Zealand. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  5. ^ "Hector Medal". Royal Society of New Zealand. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  6. ^ "Leon Phillips obituary". The Press. 7 October 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  7. ^ Packwood, Daniel. "Obituary: Leon Phillips". Chemistry in New Zealand. Retrieved 12 April 2024.