David A. Turton

Following a first career in television sound recording, I studied for an M. Chem. at Leeds University. I graduated in 2000 and was awarded a first class degree and the Dawson Prize for Physical Chemistry. I stayed in Leeds and joined the Ultrafast Group led by Godfrey Beddard and Gavin Reid studying, primarily, the application of terahertz spectroscopy to electron transfer reactions. In 2005, I was awarded a Ph.D. and the Benson Prize for this work. During the later stages, I also worked as a consultant and software developer to a start-up spun off from, what is now, the Centre for Molecular Nanoscience.

In 2004 I joined Klaas Wynne in the ultrafast physical-chemistry group at the University of Strathclyde (now Glasgow University). During this time, I have specialised in investigation of the terahertz-region properties of liquids, particularly biologically interesting liquids including water and salt solutions, but also model systems such as liquid argon, proving that there is no such thing as a simple liquid. Through a recent collaboration, we were also able to show that nanoscale structure is present in room-temperature ionic liquids.