Winner: 2020 Industrial Analytical Science Award
Dr Alex Shard
National Physical Laboratory
For pioneering accurate chemical measurements of surfaces and interfaces.
Dr Shard’s work is essential to the accurate analysis of surface coatings in everyday objects ranging from mobile phone displays to crisp packets. The thickness, purity, coverage and composition of these coatings are vital parts of the product and, for this reason, the details of surface coatings are often closely guarded secrets. Industry relies on the ability to analyse surfaces, identify atoms and molecules in the uppermost layers and measurement of the important properties of these layers. Such measurements help in the development of new, better products and prevent infringement of intellectual property. The accuracy of these measurements is underpinned by the procedures, reference data and methods provided by Dr Shard and others in the Surface Technology group at the National Physical Laboratory.
Biography
Dr Alex Shard grew up near Ipswich and obtained his PhD in surface modification and analysis from Durham University in 1992 and has been active in surface chemical analysis since then. He has worked as a research scientist at the University of Nottingham and Daresbury Laboratory, and then as a lecturer in chemistry at the Robert Gordon University and senior lecturer in biomaterials at the University of Sheffield. He joined the National Physical Laboratory in 2006 and is now Head of Science for the Chemical and Biological Science Department.
He has published over 100 peer-reviewed publications on surface analysis, organised four major interlaboratory studies, co-chaired the international SIMS conference in 2017, written two international standards and edited a textbook on nanoparticle characterisation. Dr Shard’s work at the National Physical Laboratory provides underpinning accuracy in the surface chemical measurements routinely used by industry for functional materials and devices. In 2010, his multi-layered organic reference materials demonstrated that argon cluster ion sources could achieve better than 5nm depth resolution in 3D chemical measurements of organic materials. These cluster ion sources are now equipped on thousands of instruments around the world. His work on the analysis of nanoparticle coatings has enabled industry to measure their thickness and composition in a number of innovative ways and these methods have been used to develop biomedical, diagnostic and catalytic nanoparticles.
My chemistry teacher inspired my interest in chemistry in no small part because he allowed us remarkable freedom in devising our own experiments.
Dr Alex Shard
Q&A
How did you first become interested in chemistry?
At Orwell High School in Felixstowe (now Felixstowe Academy). At that time, in the mid-1980s, we were fortunate in having some very talented teachers. Mr Travers, my chemistry teacher, inspired my interest in chemistry in no small part because he allowed us remarkable freedom in devising our own experiments.
Who or what has inspired you?
Martin Seah, NPL. Previously he had been a rather remote and somewhat intimidating presence at conferences. I met him properly when I joined NPL and found him supportive, constructive and a useful critic to discuss ideas with.
What motivates you?
Solving a problem in the most general way possible. It annoys me to think that the same problem is occupying the time of large numbers of scientists who are each starting from first principles and, occasionally, making errors. I like to think that there will be a simple solution that will save them hours of work. I also look forward to the surprising experimental results that seem to defy common sense. When Jiro Matsuo’s group in Kyoto demonstrated that cluster ion sputtering could remove organic material without damage, it led to a whole new direction in surface analysis that enormously advanced the measurement of organic samples such as drug delivery systems, OLEDs and biological specimens.
What has been your biggest challenge?
Sorting the wheat from the chaff. There are so many papers published with bold and startling claims that it is easy to miss the much smaller number that are of practical value.
What has been a highlight for you?
I am always pleased when a side project turns out to be of great value. I was casually asked how a detection limit could be calculated in X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and, although it is easy to do for a specific set of data, it led me to think of a more general way to do it. There is a lot of tedious detail, but in the end I managed to calculate detection limits for any element in any matrix. The resulting colour chart enables analysts to see whether an analysis is feasible before even receiving the sample and saves many analytical hours being wasted. A fair amount of unsolicited gratitude has come my way for this work, which is both surprising and nice to receive.
What is something you look forward to?
Currently, a COVID antibody test.
What advice would you give to a young person considering a career in chemistry?
If something interests you, pursue it and try not to worry about topics that others tell you are more important.
What is an exciting scientific development on the horizon?
Quantum detectors in analytical equipment. These have the potential to enormously increase sensitivity and resolution.
Why do you think teamwork is important in science?
Teamwork is important everywhere, not just in science. When a team is motivated and focused on a problem, has the right mixture of skills and, most importantly, there is trust and respect between the members of the team, then great progress can be made. These things happen when challenges are shared openly, each member of the team has a clear remit and there is fair recognition of effort.
Why do you think international collaboration is important in science?
Scientific progress is made globally. International communication and collaboration ensures that we are up-to-date on that progress and ensures that what we do is widely known.
Why do you think interdisciplinary research and collaboration is important in science?
Most of the exciting developments in science are made when discoveries in one discipline can be applied in another discipline. It requires communication and collaboration between experts in the different disciplines or an exceptionally talented individual capable of spanning more than one discipline. It is wonderful to meet such talented folk, but they are quite rare.
What is your favourite element?
Fluorine.