| Citation | Professor White is distinguished for his application of neutron scattering methods to problems in physical chemistry, in particular, in studying the dynamics and structure of molecular crystals, molecular liquids, polymers and molecules in the adsorbed state. In these systems scattering methods provide unique experimental information which can be compared with theoretical calculations or molecular dynamic simulations to give a detailed and quantitative understanding of the scattering function. White was among the first to assign densities of phonon states and to record the phonon dispersion from single crystals. Rotational tunnelling in molecular crystals was used to obtain insight into the crystal potential, and in adsorbed hydrogen in intercalation compounds to reveal the sensitivity of tunnelling to the crystal potential, site structure and phase transitions. Scattering studies of methane on graphite and of isoelectric ammonia on graphite were among the first to examine the structure and dynamics of adsorbed monolayers. Original research work has also been published on diffusion of water molecules near silica surfaces, dynamics of model membranes, interchain force fields in polymer powders and fibres, conducting polymers, zeolites and collagen. White was also the first British Director of the Institut Laue Langevin Grenoble. |