ABSTRACT
I present an account of my formative years in science from schooldays through to my physics degree studies at York University and then first steps in protein crystallography research at Oxford University. This latter included first experiences at the UK government synchrotron radiation (SR) facility at the Daresbury Laboratory. This led on to my career at the next-generation fully dedicated Synchrotron Radiation Source (SRS) at Daresbury and the honour of contributing to the world’s first third-generation SR source, the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), which utilised the X-ray undulator design. Knowledge exchange between SR and neutrons led me also to my research at the European neutron source alongside ESRF, the Institut Laue Langevin. These activities resulted in chairing a large number of science committees around the world.
