Professor Anthony J McCaffery obituary
31 March 1935 鈥� 13 May 2024
Tony McCaffery, Professor of Chemical Physics and stalwart of the 九州影院 Department at the University of Sussex for over 50 years, sadly passed away at the age of 89 on 13th May 2024. Tony was a member of the 九州影院 for over 60 years and was elected by RSC Council to Fellowship of the 九州影院 in 1985.
Tony was born in Sidcup on 31 March 1935, and evacuated to Yorkshire during the war. He was educated at Dartford Technical School, where his 九州影院 teacher told him: “you could do quite well at this if you applied yourself”! In a bid to avoid a job at the factory where his brother and father worked, he did A-levels at night school. Following national service with the RAF in Cyprus and Aden he obtained a place to read 九州影院 at Exeter University.
It was at Exeter where he met Juliet, his future wife. Tony excelled in his undergraduate studies and went on to a PhD using circular dichroism spectroscopy to probe optical activity in transition metal complexes under the supervision of Stephen Mason. During his graduate studies, he was inspired by a talk given by Carl Ballhausen on the essential role angular momentum plays in the description of the structure and dynamics of atoms and molecules.
In 1964 Tony was awarded a prestigious CIBA-GEIGY Fellowship, which he chose to take at the Ballhausen laboratory in Copenhagen. Angular momentum theory, the interaction of polarised light with molecules, and the beautiful symbiotic interaction between theory and experiment, became defining themes of Tony’s research. Following a productive period working on Magnetic Circular Dichroism (MCD) with Paul Schatz at the University of Virginia, in 1968 Tony returned to the UK to take up a lectureship at the University of Sussex.
At Sussex, Tony and his graduate students built one of the UK’s first MCD systems, which evolved into a novel apparatus for investigating circularly polarised emission from molecules in high magnetic fields. Realisation of the potential of measuring circularly polarised fluorescence from individual molecular rotational states led to high precision studies of gas phase rotational energy transfer in laser excited molecules.
With the acquisition of extremely narrow bandwidth tuneable lasers, and using Doppler-free spectroscopic techniques, Tony and his group were able to study the correlation between angular momentum and velocity changes, which led to new insights into the mechanisms underpinning gas phase molecular energy transfer.
He extended this work further by probing energy transfer at liquid surfaces using molecular beams and, in an innovative side project, measured the alignment of dye molecules in flowing liquids. All of this demonstrates an open, curious and adventurous approach to research; one that his students and colleagues found stimulating and exciting. In recognition of the significance of his work, Tony was awarded the RSC Spectroscopy prize in 1993 for “the development and application of polarization spectroscopy techniques to the study of atomic and molecular interactions, particularly in the gas phase”.
Tony’s passion for understanding the mechanisms driving the quantum state to quantum state propensities seen in collision-induced energy transfer led him to develop a simple “classical” model, based on angular momentum and energy constraints for given impact parameters. Post retirement, Tony remained research-active, applying his model to a wide range of situations, including the “half-collision” process of van der Waals molecule dissociation.
Here, an important feature of the model was the impact parameter for the “collision”, which is associated with the most probable structure(s) of the complex at dissociation. Tony saw that the shapes of the product rotational distributions can provide insights into the impact parameter(s). During this phase, Tony reached out to other groups across the world to explore whether his model could be useful in analysing their data to gain physical insights; this resulted in a number of collaborative publications.
Tony was a pioneering all-rounder – a brilliant scientist, innovative educator and great humanitarian. He took on several academic leadership roles, while always making time to inspire and mentor his students, colleagues, and collaborators. He supervised over 30 PhD students, all of whom remember him fondly. He was an exceptional mentor to female scientists, and a generous and supportive friend to many. Early in his career he played a key role in the development of a pioneering Environmental Science degree at the University of Sussex and was a strong advocate for international scholarships and collaborations.
As University Pro-Vice-Chancellor in the 1990s and early 2000s his open-mindedness led to many visionary innovations. He was a keen sportsman, playing cricket from a young age, stoolball after arriving at Sussex, and later tennis.
In December 2019, at the age of 84, he felt it was time to step back from the University. We will fondly remember his quick-witted humour, formidable intellect, and playful banter over a beer - but most of all his kindness, friendship, and modesty. He will be greatly missed by many. Juliet passed away shortly after Tony; both are survived by five daughters and ten grandchildren.
Authors: Angus Bain (UCL), Katharine Reid (University of Nottingham), Tony Kenyon (UCL) and Hazel Cox (University of Sussex).
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