Professor George Thompson OBE, FREng

The vital role of metals, as structural and functional materials, has impacted significantly on career development. With a first degree in metallurgy, recognition of the impact of microstructure on the properties of metals and alloys led to postgraduate research on a new range of light alloys for aerospace applications. The research was progressed largely with the use of transmission electron microscopy to define microstructure, thereby elucidating material/property relationships. With broadening of interests into electrochemistry and corrosion and protection, with a six-year period of direct employment by industry, definition of interfacial processes and their locations became a major focus in defining material properties and performance. In the subsequent research career, electronoptical approaches have provided the necessary spatial resolution for revelation of the interfaces that control the performance of filmed metals and alloys. The integration of surface analytical and electrochemical methods into the overall research strategy now enables separation of the general and local features and their individual contributions to the rate-controlling processes, that determine performance, with quantification on model and practical materials. The complementary use of approaches, with expertise in the preparation of revealing specimens, allows probing by the most appropriate analytical methods.

• General and localized corrosion and its inhibition, including corrosion control of aerospace alloys and novel protection schemes for light alloys generally
• Mechanisms of ionic transport during the growth of amorphous and crystalline anodic films on valve metals
• Growth of anodic oxide films of controlled morphology, composition and structure, and properties on alloys, and semiconducting materials.
• Novel anodic oxides on light alloys for corrosion and wear resistance, and additional functionality, for example biocompatability
• Control of the surface properties of aluminium for lithography by electrograining and anodizing
• Surface treatment and finishing of light alloys for practical applications
• Material microstructure/property/performance relationships, including microstructure control, and the influence of thermomechanical processing and joining technologies on performance
• Development of complementary approaches for precise probing ofinterfacial probing and their impact on performance
• Conservation of cultural heritage, including degradation mechanisms of building materials

• Effect of copper enrichment on the electrochemical potential of binary Al-Cu alloys, S. Garcia-Vergara, F. Colin, P. Skeldon, G.E. Thompson, P. Bailey, T.C.Q. Noakes, H. Habazaki and K. Shimizu, Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 151, B16-21 (2004).
• The chemical environment of copper at the surface of a CuAl2 model alloy: XPS, MEIS and TEM analyses, Y. Liu, P. Bailey, T. C. Q. Noakes, G.E. Thompson, P. Skeldon and M. R. Alexander, Surface and Interface Analysis, 36, 339-346 (2004).
• Luminescence from sol-gel-derived europium-doped films confined in mesoporous anodic alumina, I.S. Molchan, N.V. Gapnoneko, R. Kudrawiec, J. Misiewicz, G.E. Thompson and P. Skeldon, Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 151, H16-H20 (2004).
• Control of the cosmetic corrosion of aluminium automotive alloys, G. Scamans, A. Asfeth, G.E. Thompson and X. Zhou, DFO/DGO Conference on Light Alloy Applications, Dusseldorf (2004).
• Rf-GDOES depth profiling analysis of a monolayer of thiourea adsorbed on copper, K. Shimizu, R. Payling, H. Habazaki, P. Skeldon and G.E. Thompson, Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry, 19, 692-695 (2004).
• Self-assembly of stearic acid on aluminium: the importance of oxide chemistry, K. M. Pertays, G. E. Thompson and M. Alexander, Surface and Interface Analysis, 36, 1361-1366 (2004).
• Composition and density of non-thickness limited anodic films on aluminium and tantalum, O. Lu, P. Skeldon, G. E. Thompson, H. Habazaki and K. Shimizu, Thin Solid Films, 471 118-122 (2005).
• Chromate conversion coatings on aluminium-copper alloys, Y. Liu, G. E. Thompson, H. Habazaki and K. Shimizu, Corrosion Science, 47, 341-354 (2005).