In Memoria

Dr Paul Hewit

Paul hailed from Dudley in the “black country” in the UK. He joined the Thompson group for his PhD at Loughborough University, UK in 1972. He completed most of his work on the study of gas phase electronic transitions using Auger electron spectroscopy. Before completion he was tragically killed in a motorway accident while driving to London (1976). Since by far the majority of his PhD thesis was written the University awarded the PhD degree to Paul on a posthumous basis. Rest in peace Paul.

Dr Anil K. Deisingh

Anil was a PhD graduate of the Thompson group (2001). He was tragically killed in a vehicle accident while on his way to work in St. Augustine, Trinidad on 21 October, 2005. He obtained his BSc from the University of the West Indies in St. Augustine, which was followed by studies towards his MSc in Medicinal Chemistry from Loughborough University, UK. (Thompson was a Lecturer in this same University from 1971 to 1976.) His PhD research was on the detection of bacteria in food and water, in particular application towards the detection of E. Coli. Following a period as a post -doctoral fellow at McMaster University he joined the Caribbean Industrial Research Institute (CARIRI) which is centred in St. Augustine. His home at the time of his death was in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago.  Rest in peace Anil.

Dr Larisa-Emilia Cheran

Larisa was from Suceava in the north of Romania. She studied for her undergraduate degree and PhD in microelectronics from the University of Bucharest. In her research she became an expert on the electrochemical characterization of biological cells, a topic she remained passionate about for the rest of her life.  Following a period as a staff member at the University of Bucharest she moved to Canada and joined the Thompson research group first as a post-doctoral fellow, then as a research associate.  In her time in the Department of Chemistry Larisa designed and developed the now famous scanning Kelvin nanoprobe which was employed to study biochemical macromolecules and cells on surfaces. She contributed a large number of ground-breaking papers to the literature, more recently performing revolutionary experiments on intentionality and the behaviour of cells. Not only was Larisa a superb scientist she was a highly talented and accomplished artist. She passed away suddenly from a heart condition on April 29^th, 2015. Rest in peace Larisa.