Professor John Langley Awarded Fellowship by The Learned Society of Wales
We are proud to announce that The Learned Society of Wales has named John Langley, Professor Emeritus, University of Southampton, among its new Fellows. John, now retired, is widely known as a pioneer in the industry and established much of the University of Southampton’s capability within the Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry Facility, now part of CChES.
Recognising chromatography and mass spectrometry research excellence
John has spent over two decades dedicated to research across a wide range of chemistries and applications, including fundamental mass spectrometry, pharmaceuticals, chemical biology and petrochemicals.
More recently, he secured funding for research around 2D chromatography and mass spectrometry being used to identify and understand new fuels and problematic species within modern fuels.
John established one of the first open‑access ESI‑MS platforms in 1995, subsequently expanding the capability to include HPLC‑MS, GC‑MS and SFC‑MS. He is an internationally recognised expert in SFC-MS and this was recognised by Waters Ltd who selected his laboratory to host one of the first new generation SFC-MS systems (UPC2) in 2012.
Commercial partnerships and mentoring
His commercial and enterprise activities include working with 80 different businesses and 15 University departments; many of these commercial activities led to longer-term research relationships. John has also successfully supervised and mentored over 30 PhD students, early career researchers and technical specialists – many of whom still work as chromatographers and mass spectrometrists within academia and industry, reflecting John’s lasting contribution to the analytical science community.
John said: “I am truly honoured and immensely proud to have been elected a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales. It is a wonderful recognition, and I look forward to the opportunity to contribute to the work of this fantastic Society.”
Professor Geraint Morgan, who specialises in analytical chemistry for CChES and the University of Southampton, commented: “I was delighted, though not surprised, when I heard this news. The fellowship from the Learned Society of Wales is the latest in a series of prestigious awards recognising John’s long and distinguished career in driving forward chromatography and mass spectrometry at the University of Southampton, nationally and globally. As a fellow Welshman I am aware of how proud he will feel to receive this recognition of his research excellence, from the most eminent society in the ‘Land of our Fathers’. Llongyfarchiadau, John.”
The announcement of the 44 new Fellows, with John Langley among them, is an opportunity to celebrate the depth and breadth of Welsh research, innovation, leadership and creativity.
“Welcoming our new Fellows to the Society is always one of the highlights of the Society’s year,” said Professor Hywel Thomas, President of the Learned Society of Wales.
“I congratulate them on this recognition of the excellence and the importance of their work and contributions to life in Wales and beyond. We look forward to bringing their experience and knowledge to our work on policy and researcher development.”