George E. Bacon (Derby School 1928-1936)
Pioneer of Neutron Scattering and Professor of Physics at Sheffield University
George Bacon, rivalled only by his close contemporary Sandy Ashmore as Derby School's most eminent twentieth-century scientist, enjoyed an exceptionally long and distinguished career in government agencies, Sheffield University, and international collaboration.
On leaving school Bacon went up to Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where he had gained an open scholarship rather than the closed exhibition that the School then held at that College. On graduating in 1939, he was destined for postgraduate research but the Second World War intervened.
Bacon's wartime service was in the Telecommunications Research Establishment of the Air Ministry. There his research made a significant contribution to the development of radar, helping to add a dimension of height to the direction and ranging capacities that had already been established. The new information proved crucial in directing fighter pilots in the Battle of Britain in 1940.
After the war Bacon joined the Atomic Energy Research Establishment at Harwell as a Deputy Chief Scientific Officer and began his work on developing neutron diffraction. He built the first neutron diffractometer in Europe, and in 1948 co-authored a paper for the Royal Society on the topic. He worked on the structure of graphite, an important material as a moderator in nuclear reactors, and that became the focus of his PhD, which he obtained as an external degree from London University in 1952.
Bacon published his seminal study Neutron Diffraction in 1955. It soon became the bible for neutron scatterers. Widely praised for its unusual combination of comprehensiveness and lucidity, Bacon's volume covered the whole of the contemporary understanding of neutron scattering. The first section described the neutron scattering processes and their advantages, while the following chapters accounted for the different ways that neutrons could be exploited. Neutron Diffraction shaped the work of subsequent researchers and ran into three editions. It was followed by six other books, in addition to many scientific papers: Applications of Neutron Diffraction in Chemistry (1963), X-ray and Neutron Diffraction (1966), Neutron Physics (1969), Neutron Scattering in Chemistry (1977), The Architecture of Solids (1981), and Fifty Years of Neutron Diffraction (1987).
In 1963 Bacon moved to Sheffield University as Professor of Physics. He served as Head of Department 1963-5, 1969-72, and 1978-81, and was Dean of the Faculty of Pure Science 1969-71. During this period he began his work on the structure of bones, following up ideas suggested in an undergraduate project undertaken by his son Philip. Using diffraction to study the apatite crystals in bones, Bacon worked on topics such as the structure of broken bones after they had healed and the influence of exercise on the bones of pre-historic man. Although he officially retired in 1981, Bacon continued to be active in research, undertaking experiments at the Institut Laue-Langevin in Grenoble as late as 2002.
Throughout his long career, Bacon retained an affection for his old school, and he served as President of the Old Derbeian Society from 1980 to 1982.
Bacon's colleagues praise him as an unassuming and gentle man who belonged to the old school of gentlemen scientists but was willing to collaborate with younger colleagues and to learn from them - he became a computer user at the age of eighty-one. In 1998 Sheffield celebrated him with an honorary degree, a distinction usually reserved for retiring Vice-Chancellors, and in 1999 he was awarded the Guthrie Medal and Prize, and became a Fellow of the Institute of Physics.
George Edward Bacon, MA PhD ScD FInstP: Born Derby 5 December 1917; died 18 March 2011. Married Enid Trigg 1945 (died 2003); one son and one daughter.
Sources:
Alan Hewat, The Passing of the Father of Neutron Diffraction in Europe, Neutron News 22:2 (2011), 33; Neil Cowlam, Philip Bacon, and Carl Schwalbe, obituary for the British Crystallographic Association (2011); Who's Who (2010); advice from Dr Philip Bacon.
Prof. J. McLaverty (1963-67)
Back to 'In Memoriam'
On leaving school Bacon went up to Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where he had gained an open scholarship rather than the closed exhibition that the School then held at that College. On graduating in 1939, he was destined for postgraduate research but the Second World War intervened.
Bacon's wartime service was in the Telecommunications Research Establishment of the Air Ministry. There his research made a significant contribution to the development of radar, helping to add a dimension of height to the direction and ranging capacities that had already been established. The new information proved crucial in directing fighter pilots in the Battle of Britain in 1940.
After the war Bacon joined the Atomic Energy Research Establishment at Harwell as a Deputy Chief Scientific Officer and began his work on developing neutron diffraction. He built the first neutron diffractometer in Europe, and in 1948 co-authored a paper for the Royal Society on the topic. He worked on the structure of graphite, an important material as a moderator in nuclear reactors, and that became the focus of his PhD, which he obtained as an external degree from London University in 1952.
Bacon published his seminal study Neutron Diffraction in 1955. It soon became the bible for neutron scatterers. Widely praised for its unusual combination of comprehensiveness and lucidity, Bacon's volume covered the whole of the contemporary understanding of neutron scattering. The first section described the neutron scattering processes and their advantages, while the following chapters accounted for the different ways that neutrons could be exploited. Neutron Diffraction shaped the work of subsequent researchers and ran into three editions. It was followed by six other books, in addition to many scientific papers: Applications of Neutron Diffraction in Chemistry (1963), X-ray and Neutron Diffraction (1966), Neutron Physics (1969), Neutron Scattering in Chemistry (1977), The Architecture of Solids (1981), and Fifty Years of Neutron Diffraction (1987).
In 1963 Bacon moved to Sheffield University as Professor of Physics. He served as Head of Department 1963-5, 1969-72, and 1978-81, and was Dean of the Faculty of Pure Science 1969-71. During this period he began his work on the structure of bones, following up ideas suggested in an undergraduate project undertaken by his son Philip. Using diffraction to study the apatite crystals in bones, Bacon worked on topics such as the structure of broken bones after they had healed and the influence of exercise on the bones of pre-historic man. Although he officially retired in 1981, Bacon continued to be active in research, undertaking experiments at the Institut Laue-Langevin in Grenoble as late as 2002.
Throughout his long career, Bacon retained an affection for his old school, and he served as President of the Old Derbeian Society from 1980 to 1982.
Bacon's colleagues praise him as an unassuming and gentle man who belonged to the old school of gentlemen scientists but was willing to collaborate with younger colleagues and to learn from them - he became a computer user at the age of eighty-one. In 1998 Sheffield celebrated him with an honorary degree, a distinction usually reserved for retiring Vice-Chancellors, and in 1999 he was awarded the Guthrie Medal and Prize, and became a Fellow of the Institute of Physics.
George Edward Bacon, MA PhD ScD FInstP: Born Derby 5 December 1917; died 18 March 2011. Married Enid Trigg 1945 (died 2003); one son and one daughter.
Sources:
Alan Hewat, The Passing of the Father of Neutron Diffraction in Europe, Neutron News 22:2 (2011), 33; Neil Cowlam, Philip Bacon, and Carl Schwalbe, obituary for the British Crystallographic Association (2011); Who's Who (2010); advice from Dr Philip Bacon.
Prof. J. McLaverty (1963-67)
Back to 'In Memoriam'
