| Citation | Ruth Lynden-Bell has made important advances through the application of statistical mechanical theories to the properties of molecular liquids and disordered solids. In early work she made careful and original analyses of the effects of molecular reorientation on vibrational lineshapes and nmr relaxation in the liquid phase: she subsequently extended these techniques to examine and provide quantitative explanations for the spectroscopic signatures of rotator phase transitions in plastic crystals. Since mid-career she has increasingly used computer simulation as a way of providing precise information to examine the validity of theories and to extend the range of phenomena open to theoretical analysis. This work is distinguished for the close interplay between simulation and theoretical development and has led to the identification of key physical processes which underpin several physical phenomena. In particular she has examined the interplay between the electronic structure of a solute and the local solvent structure. She has made important contributions to theories of solvation of ions providing novel, and now accepted, explanations for the effect of ion size on the thermodynamic and transport properties of ions in aqueous solutions. She carried out pioneering simulation studies of molecular structure and transport across interfaces. In recent times, she has conducted the first systematic attempt to develop realistic simulation models of "low temperature molten salts" (or "ionic liquids") and to explain their unique characteristics as solvents and at interfaces. Her papers are distinguished for their clarity and elegance and for providing clear and well substantiated explanations for a wide range of phenomena. |