Roy Johnston, 1961-2019

A world-renowned expert on chemical structures has died.

Roy Johnston was born in Aberdeen in 1961, to an Italian mother and Scottish father. Since his father was a train driver, the family had to move first to Rugby and then to Birmingham after a number of lines were axed in the aftermath of the Beeching reports of the early 1960s. He attended Saltley Grammar School and was initially interested in history but changed his mind when he came under the influence of an inspirational chemistry teacher. He therefore opted to study chemistry at the University of Oxford for a BA (1983), followed by a DPhil exploring theoretical aspects of cluster molecules.

After Oxford, Professor Johnston secured a postdoctoral fellowship in the US (1987-89), split between Cornell University, where he worked with Nobel laureate Roald Hoffmann on theoretical solid state chemistry, and the University of Arizona, where he focused on gas phase and surface photoelectron spectroscopy. After returning to the UK in 1989, he joined the University of Sussex as a Royal Society university research fellow and returned to his initial interests in developing and applying models of clusters, surfaces and solids. From there, in 1995, he moved to the University of Birmingham, where he would remain for the rest of his career. Initially appointed lecturer in inorganic chemistry, he was promoted to senior lecturer in 2002, reader in 2003 and finally professor of computational chemistry in 2006.

Jon Preece, professor of nanoscale chemistry at Birmingham, described Professor Johnston as “a world-leading chemist [who made] seminal contributions towards elucidating the structures and properties of clusters, nanoparticles and nanoalloys. He is well known for applications of global optimisation methods based on genetic algorithms, which in turn rely upon the principles of natural evolution, for structure prediction…He regularly, up until his illness, was a plenary invited speaker at conferences across the globe.” Yet, much to the delight of his young children, he often failed to answer the chemistry-related questions on the long-running BBC quiz show, University Challenge.

Along with his scientific achievements, Professor Johnston took on a number of leadership roles at Birmingham, including deputy head of school, director of research and chair of the college postgraduate research committee. Colleagues enjoyed his warmth, his love of history, cricket and crosswords, and particularly the annual student and staff barbecue that he always hosted with his wife Suzanne.  

Professor Johnston died of stomach cancer on 16 August and is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.

matthew.reisz@timeshighereducation.com