Martin Medal Awarded to Peter Myers and Iain Wilson at HPLC 2016

The Chromatographic Society (ChromSoc) awarded Professor Peter Myers and Professor Iain Wilson the Martin Medal at HPLC 2016 in San Francisco, California, USA.   Peter Myers is currently a sponsored chair at the Department of Chemistry at University of Liverpool (UK) and has strong relationships with academia and industry. His group currently consists of one lecturer, two post docs, and four PhD students, and is regarded as a centre of excellence on research into the fundamentals of chromatography.   A major focus of his group at the moment is the automation of the manual process of collecting fluid samples and delivering them to laboratories for analysis. This goal will be achieved using miniaturized analysers in “chip” form that will take measurements at point of use. These application-specific chips will integrate sample preparation, chromatographic techniques, and detection systems into a miniaturized micro-fluidic system.   Peter received his B.Sc. in Pure Chemistry (First Class with Honours) and his Ph.D. in Maths, Physics, and Chemistry from the University of Salford, Manchester, UK. He began his life in industry at Unilever, before joining Phase Separations in 1979. Peter was promoted to the role of technical director in 1985 and spear-headed the development of the Sol-Gel process to manufacture spherical ceramics for chromatographic applications   The Sol-Gel process is currently used to produce customized porous spheres consisting of a variety of materials, pore sizes, pore volumes, and surface areas. Peter has worked on numerous confidential projects to develop unique bonded phases with specific benefits for the user.   Peter’s hero, mentor, and inspiration was Denis Desty and in 1996 Peter launched the “Desty Memorial Lectures for Innovation in Separation Science” to pay tribute to his mentor and also contemporary scientists, who are playing an important role in advancing separation science.   Peter’s contribution to chromatography has been recognized in a range of other awards, including a Fellowship from the Royal Society of Chemistry (1996); the University of Messina Separation Foundation Prize (2005); and the Chromatographic Society’s Jubilee Medal in 2006. He is also a proud member of The Pye 104 Club, and founding member of SWAG, an exclusive separation science and wine-drinking group.   Professor Ian Wilson is currently Chair in Drug Metabolism and Molecular Toxicology at Imperial College, London, UK, and has spent most of his working life in the Department of Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics at the AstraZeneca site in Alderley Park, Cheshire, UK, most recently as a Senior Principal Scientist. He has been Chair in Drug Metabolism and Molecular Toxicology at Imperial College since September 2012. His research focuses on developing hyphenated techniques to investigate drug toxicology, metabolism, and metabonomics.    Professor Wilson obtained his PhD on insect moulting hormones at Keele University and, after a year in a post-doctorate position, embarked on an industrial career in the drug metabolism department at Hoechst Pharmaceuticals. He then joined Imperial Chemicals Industries (ICI) in 1986 at the Alderley Park site which, after a series of spin-offs and mergers, became AstraZeneca.   Iain has authored or co-authored approximately 500 manuscripts and has been awarded numerous accolades including the Gold Medal of the Analytical Division from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) in 2005 and the Knox Medal from the RSC Separation Science Group in 2012. Iain was awarded the Jubilee Medal from the Chromatographic Society in 1994 and presented the first Desty Memorial lecture for Innovation in Separation Science, organized by Peter Myers, in 1996. Iain was presented with the International Award of the Belgian Society for Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Bioanalysis Significant Contribution Award (BOSCA) in 2014.    Iain plays a key role in organizing the ISC conference series and the International Symposium on Chiral Separations.    The Martin Medal is named after Professor A.J. P. Martin who, in 1978, gave permission for his name to be associated with the award. It is the highest honour the Chromatographic Society confers and is awarded to scientists who have made outstanding contributions to the advancement of separation science.