School of Physics and AMBER Researcher, Professor Jonathan Coleman, has been elected as a Fellow of The Royal Society. Professor Coleman was appointed in 2022 as Trinity College Dublin’s 22nd Erasmus Smith’s professor of natural and experimental philosophy, i.e. physics. Founded in 1724, it is one of the oldest chairs of physics in Ireland and Britain. His predecessors include a Nobel Laureate in physics and seven Fellows of the Royal Society.
Rising to Chair of Chemical Physics in 2011, the foundation of Coleman’s work was the development of Liquid Phase Exfoliation, a transformative technique for producing 2D nanomaterials like graphene from layered solids such as graphite. He has published >400 papers in international journals including Nature and Science and has been cited approximately 120,000 times. Within AMBER, Professor Coleman has responsibility for leading the 2D materials pillar programme and co-leading the Engineered Functional Materials theme.
Speaking following his election Professor Coleman said, “I am deeply honoured to be elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society. This recognition is a testament to the hard work of many PhD students and research fellows who have worked in my group in Trinity College Dublin over the years. I am incredibly grateful to my colleagues in the School of Physics and the CRANN and AMBER research centres who have supported me throughout this journey”
“The School of Physics at Trinity College Dublin has a proud tradition of its professors being elected to Fellowship of the Royal Society. Of the 21 Erasmus Smith's Professors of Natural and Experimental Philosophy preceding me in this position, seven have been honoured with this prestigious fellowship. Among them were distinguished figures such as Humphrey Lloyd, who experimentally confirmed the wave nature of light, and George Francis Fitzgerald, who first proposed the Fitzgerald-Lorentz contraction, a concept that anticipated Einstein’s theory of special relativity. More recently, the two preceding Erasmus Smith Professors, Denis Weaire and Michael Coey, were both elected as Fellows of the Royal Society, further exemplifying the School's legacy of pioneering scientific achievement”.
Founded in 1660 The Royal Society is a Fellowship of many of the world's most eminent scientists and is the oldest scientific academy in continuous existence. Each year it elects Fellows, Foreign Members and Honorary Fellows. Professor Coleman and the newly elected Fellows and Foreign Members join the ranks of, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Lise Meitner, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar and Dorothy Hodgkin.
Professor Coleman is one of two Fellows elected to the Royal Society from Trinity College Dublin this year, joined by Jennifer McElwain, Professor of Botany (1711), whose research on fossil plants has shaped our understanding of how the composition of the atmosphere, particularly the concentration of greenhouse gases, have changed over millions of years. With the election of Professors Coleman and McElwain, this brings to eight, the number of Royal Society Fellow based in Ireland.
Dr Linda Doyle, Provost & President at Trinity College Dublin, said: “It comes as no surprise to hear that Jennifer and Jonathan have been elected to the prestigious Fellowship of the Royal Society.
“Both are stellar researchers and deeply committed to their fields of scholarship. Their generosity in sharing their expertise through teaching and engagement is well known in Trinity and beyond. As well as honouring their individual achievements, this news also highlights the talent of Trinity’s research community and affirms our standing as a leading research-intensive university. It is a hallmark of a Trinity education that our students benefit directly from learning in an environment shaped by research leaders like Jonathan and Jennifer.”
The School wishes to extend its congratulations to both Professor Jonathan Coleman and Professor Jennifer McElwain on this prestigious announcement.
Attached Image: Headshot of Erasmus Smith's Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy (1724) Jonathan Coleman, TCD & AMBER