Dr Martin Richard Willis BSc PhD FRSC

14 November 1934 - 30 October 2006

Colleagues, students and friends of Martin Willis from many countries have been saddened to learn of his death after a long illness. He was a big man, not only in stature but also in intellect, kindness and humanity. His lifelong association with the University of Nottingham was characteristic of an era that has now all but vanished. He played an important role in the development of the synthesis, characterisation and study of organic materials with device potential from its beginnings to its present position as a major area of the now well-established subject of Materials Chemistry. 

The son of an Anglican vicar, his secondary education was at St John's School, Leatherhead (a Foundation School for sons of clergy), where his growing interest in Chemistry led to some amateur pyrotechnics with predictable consequences. Although in these early years his physique made him a natural keen oarsman, rowing on the Thames with Quintin Boat Club, it found a more lasting and formal outlet in his role as the University of Nottingham's ceremonial Macebearer for many years. The University of Nottingham provided the focus of his life from his entry as a Chemistry undergraduate in 1954 until his death. He obtained 1st class honours in 1957, married Jean - a fellow Nottingham Chemistry student - in 1960, when he also completed his PhD entitled "Some Electrical Properties of Organic Solids" under the supervision of Professor D.D. Eley. He was successively Assistant Lecturer, Lecturer, Senior Lecturer and Reader in the Chemistry Department at Nottingham. After retirement in 2000 he became Honorary Research Fellow and was a part-time Tutor in the Training and Staff Development Unit, passing on a lifetime's experience of teaching and research in the Department to young newly-appointed colleagues.

Martin made good use of both his start in Professor Eley's group and his subsequent career stability at Nottingham to develop systematic research on organic solids. His first publication, a 1959 Faraday Discussion paper with Eley and Inokuchi on the semiconductivity of semiquinone molecular complexes, marked the beginning of a lifelong friendship and collaboration with Japanese colleagues. Inokuchi, who also successfully submitted a Nottingham PhD thesis at that time, went on to be a leader of his field both in Japan and worldwide, and it was fitting that eventually many of Martin's PhD graduates went on to postdoctoral work in Japan in return. Martin worked with a wide range of organic solids (free radicals, TCNQ salts and complexes, phthalocyanines, starburst molecules, and ordered thin films) and a wide range of experimental techniques, many involving equipment that he developed himself. The twin pillars of his work were that the research must improve understanding of the fundamental phenomena but, equally importantly, that the organic solid state would only attract viable long-term support if it led to materials with advantages for device applications. His legacy of publications demonstrates the value of his contributions on both of these frontiers. They include applications to infra-red detectors; gas detection using semiconductor, Seebeck and SAW devices; switching devices; photovoltaic devices; photocopying and electroluminescence. Remarkably, 30 years ago he reported an organic complex radical anion salt that retained metallic conductivity down to 30mK. His most recent work on the use of electrode modification to control hole injection in organic electroluminescent devices demonstrates his sustained ability to contribute significantly at topical frontiers. He was a founder member of the UK Molecular Crystals Discussion Group in the mid-1970s, and served a period as a member of the Materials Chemistry Forum, organising the second Materials Chemistry Discussion at Nottingham in 1999, on "Organic Thin Films".

Martin was an outstanding teacher, supervisor and examiner, recognised by a Lord Dearing Award for Teaching and Learning in 2000, and by tributes from students: "You have been a mentor, rock and inspiration to me and all my friends" (from an undergraduate tutee); "Martin's kindness, generosity and optimistic outlook were evident every day and it was both a pleasure and privilege to have worked for him", "Martin was an inspirational teacher and kind friend to me. I will never forget him", "Always positive, enthusiastic and inspiring. He has been a great influence on my life" (from PhD students); ".very warm, generous and able to challenge you in a gentle way. I came out of the viva feeling I had actually learnt a great deal during the process" (from a PhD candidate he examined). Martin was appointed Postgraduate Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Science in 1997, and was a governor of Nottingham High School and Matlock College. He served as adviser on the Applied Chemistry BSc course at the University of Derby, and was a specialist assessor for Chemistry for HEFCE. His textbook on Pericyclic Reactions (with G.B. Gill, Chapman & Hall, 1974) was also published as a Japanese translation in 1980, and reflected his wide interests. 

Martin really enjoyed people. He would talk to anyone, anywhere at any time. He loved travel, and thrived on his visits to Japan as visiting professor in Tokyo, Nagoya and Okazaki, as well as to friends and colleagues in Poland and the USA, and as external examiner at the University of Mauritius Institute of Education. His wife and their two sons were able to share many of these visits, and their loss will be shared by all who knew Martin. 

John D. Wright

Disclaimer

The Royal Society of Chemistry is not responsible for individual opinions expressed on this page.