Sir Richard Henry Friend FRS is Cavendish Professor

Cavendish Professor of Physics

The Cavendish Professorship is one of the senior Professorships in Physics at Cambridge University. It was founded by grace of 9 February 1871 alongside the famous Cavendish Laboratory which was completed three years later...

 at the University of Cambridge

University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...

 and Tan Chin Tuan Centennial Professor at the National University of Singapore

National University of Singapore

The National University of Singapore is Singapore's oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered....

. He is a fellow of St John's College

St John's College, Cambridge

St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....

. His research concerns the physics

Physics

Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...

 and engineering

Engineering

Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...

 of carbon

Carbon

Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds...

-based semiconductor

Semiconductor

A semiconductor is a material with electrical conductivity due to electron flow intermediate in magnitude between that of a conductor and an insulator. This means a conductivity roughly in the range of 103 to 10−8 siemens per centimeter...

s.

His work has been applied to development of polymer

Polymer

A polymer is a large molecule composed of repeating structural units. These subunits are typically connected by covalent chemical bonds...

 field effect transistors, light-emitting diodes, photovoltaic diodes, optically pumped lasing and directly printed polymer transistors.
He pioneered the study of organic polymers and the electronic properties of molecular semiconductors. He is also one of the principal investigators in the new Cambridge-based Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration (IRC) on nanotechnology

Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with developing materials, devices, or other structures possessing at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometres...

 and co-founder of Cambridge Display Technology (CDT) and Plastic Logic

Plastic Logic

Plastic Logic is a spin-off company from Cambridge University's Cavendish Laboratory and specializes in polymer transistors and electronics.The firm was founded in 2000....

.

Friend has over 600 publications and more than 20 patent

Patent

A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....

s.

Friend’s research has been used to develop flat panel display

Flat panel display

Flat panel displays encompass a growing number of electronic visual display technologies. They are far lighter and thinner than traditional television sets and video displays that use cathode ray tubes , and are usually less than thick...

s and future screens that can be rolled and transported. He is the founder of the company Cambridge Display Technology Ltd to capitalise and bring to market the first products using this latest semiconductor technology.

Friend's brother Peter

Peter Friend (professor)

Professor Peter Friend is Professor of Transplantation and Director of the Oxford Transplant Centre and a fellow of Green Templeton College, Oxford.His brother Richard is Cavendish Professor at the University of Cambridge.-References:...

 is a professor of transplantation and director of the Oxford Transplant Centre.

Awards

In March 2003 Friend won the IEE's

Institution of Electrical Engineers

The Institution of Electrical Engineers was a British professional organisation of electronics, electrical, manufacturing, and Information Technology professionals, especially electrical engineers. The I.E.E...

 Faraday Medal

Faraday Medal

The Faraday Medal is a medal awarded by the Institution of Electrical Engineers The bronze medal is awarded without restriction as regards nationality, country of...

. He was knighted for "services to physics" in the Queen's Birthday Honours List, 2003.

In 2010, Friend was elected as one of the three laureates of Millennium Technology Prize

Millennium Technology Prize

The Millennium Technology Prize is the largest technology prize in the world. It is awarded once every two years by Technology Academy Finland, an independent fund established by Finnish industry and the Finnish state in partnership. The prize is presented by the President of Finland...

for the development of plastic electronics.

External links

• Cambridge's webpage on Richard Friend
• NUS's webpage on Richard Friend
• CDT web page
• Freeview video interview with Richard Friend by the Vega Science Trust (RealPlayer required)
• Richard Friend interviewed by Alan Macfarlane 21st May 2008 (film) (QuickTime required - YouTube version here)