Colin Western (1957-2021)

Research output: Contribution to journalReview article (Academic Journal)peer-review

Original languageEnglish
Article number111858
Number of pages2
JournalJournal of Molecular Spectroscopy
Volume398
Early online date10 Nov 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Nov 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This Special Issue of the Journal of Molecular Spectroscopy is in honor of Dr Colin M. Western, who died on 21st September 2021. Colin was an undergraduate and postgraduate student at St John’s College, Oxford, gaining his doctorate in 1981 for exquisitely detailed molecular beam electric resonance spectroscopy studies of Ar…NO and the nitric oxide dimer [1] carried out under the supervision of Professor Brian Howard. This was followed by a very successful period of postdoctoral research with Professor Kenneth Janda at Caltech, using infrared photodissociation spectroscopy to obtain the spectra and structure of hydrogen bonded dimers like C 2 H 4 …HF and C 2 H 4 …HCl and the van der Waals complexes Ne…C 2 H 4 and Ar…C 2 H 4 [2] . At Caltech, Colin also applied laser induced fluorescence methods to explore the Ne…Cl 2 and Ne…Br 2 complexes [3] . Colin then accepted a postdoctoral position with Professor Richard Dixon at Bristol and shortly thereafter won a prestigious Royal Society University Research Fellowship. This enabled him to launch his independent career in Bristol, and he was appointed to a Lectureship in 1993, then promoted to Reader, and continued working at Bristol until ill-health forced his early retirement in 2021.

Research Groups and Themes

  • Physical & Theoretical

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