Professor John Spence ForMemRS

BioXFEL Scientific Director Dr. John Spece has been appointed fellow of the prestigious Royal Society for his innovative world-leading contributions to both biology and materials science.

 

Professor John Spence ForMemRS

(reprinted from royalsociety.org)

Richard Snell Professor of Physics, Department of Physics, Arizona State University and Director of Science, NSF BioXFEL Science and Technology Center

John Spence is distinguished for his innovative world-leading contributions to both biology and materials science. He led the team which conceived the first application of X-ray free-electron lasers (XFEL) to structural biology using protein nanocrystals and he pioneered femtosecond serial crystallography. He is also a world leader in the development and application of atomic-resolution electron microscopy. For example, he co-invented a widely used technique for locating impurity atoms in nanocrystals and published the first observation of dislocation kinks, at atomic resolution. He has developed new microscopies and spectroscopies which have given scientists new eyes to understand atomic processes in solids.