| Authorised form of name | Hirsch; Sir; Peter Bernhard (1925-2025); materials scientist |
| Dates | 1925-2025 |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | Berlin, Germany, Europe |
| Date of birth | 16 January 1925 |
| Place of death | Cambridge, England, United Kingdom |
| Date of death | 12 September 2025 |
| Occupation | Materials scientist |
| Research field | Physics |
| Materials Science |
| Activity | Education: Sloane Grammar School, Chelsea; St Catharine's College, Cambridge 1943
Career:
Joined the Crystallography Department of the Cavendish Laboratory to work for a PhD on work hardening in metals (1946); Assistant Director of Research in Physics, Cambridge University (1957); University Lecturer in Physics, Cambridge University (1958); Readership in Physics, Cambridge University (1964); appointed Head of the Department of Metallurgy & Materials and Isaac Wolfson Professor of Metallurgy, University of Oxford (1966-1992); Honorary Fellowship, St Catharine's College, Cambridge (1982); Emeritus Professor of Metallurgy, Department of Materials, University of Oxford (2025).
Honours:
Kt 1975
Awards/Medals:
Franklin J. Clamer Medal 1970
Wolf Prize in Physics 1983/4
Holweck Medal 1988
Lomonosov Gold Medal 2005
Memberships:
Chairman of the UK Atomic Energy Authority 1982–84
Technical Advisory Group on the Structural Integrity to the UK Nuclear Industry 1993–2002 |
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 21/03/1963 |
| Age at election | 38 |
| RSActivity | Royal Society roles:
Council: 1977-1979
Medals and prizes:
Hughes Medal 1973; Royal Medal 1977
Lectures:
UK-Canada Rutherford 1992 |
| Other Royal Society activity | Congratulatory certificate on the fiftieth anniversary of election to the Fellowship of the Royal Society 2013 |
| Relationships | Great niece: Afua Hirsch FRSL, writer and broadcaster. |
| PublishedWorks | RCN 19002
RCN 15121
RCN 15189
RCN 9776 |
| OtherInfo | Pioneered the direct observation and motion of crystal defects called dislocations in thin foils using a transmission electron microscope. These observations have helped explain the role of dislocations in controlling plastic deformation of metals. He and his group developed the theory of electron diffraction contrast imaging, which enables dislocations to be observed and characterised.
He was one of the many Jewish children that escaped Germany via the Kindertransport missions. |
| Source | The Royal Society Fellows Directory, Sir Peter Hirsch FRS, [URL: https://royalsociety.org/people/peter-hirsch-11625/;last accessed: 24/09/2025]
St Catharine's College, Cambridge, Professor Sir Peter Hirsch FRS (16 January 1925–12 September 2025), 19 September 2025, [URL: https://www.caths.cam.ac.uk/prof-sir-peter-hirsch; last accessed: 24/09/2025]
University of Oxford, Department of Materials, Prof Sir Peter Hirsch: 1925-2025, [URL: https://www.materials.ox.ac.uk/article/prof-sir-peter-hirsch-frs; last accessed: 24/09/2025] |
| Code | NA4184 |
Archives associated with this Fellow
| RefNo | Title | Date |
| EC/1963/09 | Hirsch, Peter Bernhard: certificate of election to the Royal Society | |
| HWT/25/6 | Correspondence and papers regarding Chinese research workers in Britain and British visitors to China | August - December 1966 |
| HWT/25/5 | Correspondence and papers regarding Chinese research workers in Britain and British visitors to China | June - July 1966 |
| IM/002124 | Hirsch, Sir Peter Bernhard | 1991 |
| WF/6 | Grant application from the University of Oxford to the Wolfson Foundation for Chair in Metallurgy | 1957-2007 |