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Physics professor receives international fellowship

1 March 2006

Emeritus Professor John Pilbrow, considered one of the fathers of modern electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), was last week awarded one of the highest honours in his field -- a Fellowship of the International EPR Society (IES).

From left: Emeritus Professor John Pilbrow and Dr Wolfgang Lubitz.

Professor Pilbrow, who joins ranks that include Nobel Prize winner Aleksandr Prokhorov from Russia, said he was humbled by the experience.

"It is a joy to be in the company of some extremely distinguished people including one Nobel laureate," said Professor Pilbrow, the former secretary and president of the IES. "It's not something one seeks or expects, and it's a delight when these things happen."

Presenting the fellowship, current IES President Dr Wolfgang Lubitz said Professor Pilbrow was an inspiring teacher and great researcher and colleague.

"I would like to thank John personally for his engagement in the field," Dr Lubitz said. "He is one of the fathers of modern EPR in Australia and worldwide."

The fellowship is awarded in recognition of outstanding contribution to EPR spectroscopy -- a powerful technique used to identify unpaired electrons in atoms, such as those found in free radicals or transition metal ions including iron and copper.

The IES citation described Professor Pilbrow as "a pioneer in the area … (who) has contributed immensely to our understanding of the subject and its application to a myriad of areas in physics, chemistry and material science".

Professor Pilbrow has received many academic awards and fellowships, published more than 200 papers and authored a classic book on transition metal ions.

Accepting the award, he acknowledged the encouragement he got from Monash when he started in the field more than 40 years ago.

"There was a buzz and an excitement and a sense that (we) were doing something that was really exciting and worth doing. And that underpinned my career."

Professor Pilbrow said he had decided "in about 30 seconds" to focus his studies on "what everyone else was not doing" -- EPR spectroscopy -- and it had since occupied his entire working life.