Malvern Instruments’ product technical specialist for rheology, Dr. John Duffy, has been awarded the prestigious Vernon Harrison doctoral prize given annually by the British Society of Rheology (BSR). He will receive his award, and give his award lecture, at the BSR Midwinter Meeting at the University of Edinburgh’s School of Physics and Astonomy, Edinburgh, Scotland, December 14-15.

“This is a superb achievement,” said Dr. Mike Kaszuba, Malvern’s technical specialist supervisor. “John was awarded his Doctor of Philosophy degree in November 2008 from the University of Nottingham for his work on rheological studies of the microstructure of molten coal as it undergoes carbonization. By then, Malvern had already snapped him up. Known for the high caliber of our in-house scientific specialists, we recognized the importance of the rheological expertise and industrial experience that John brings to the company and the benefits for our customers.”

The Vernon Harrison award is presented for “the most original and significant contribution to any branch of rheological research leading to the award of a PhD degree in a given academic year”. Duffy’s award-winning thesis is entitled: ‘Understanding the Mechanisms Behind Coking Pressure: Relationship to Pore Structure and Thermoplastic Properties.’

After receiving his BSc (Hons) Applied Chemistry from Liverpool’s John Moores University, Duffy’s PhD studies followed more than seven years in industry at Unilever and Boots.

Malvern provides a range of complementary materials characterization tools that deliver inter-related measurements reflecting the complexities of particulates and disperse systems, nanomaterials, and macromolecules. For more information, visit www.malvern.com.