Robert Joseph Young

Robert Joseph Young FRS (born 29 May 1948) He is Emeritus Professor of Polymer Science and Technology at the Department of Materials and National Graphene Institute at the University of Manchester.

Research and career Young has published over 330 research papers which have been cited over 37,000 times, leading to a h-index of 91. He is known for research on the relationships between the structure and mechanical properties of polymers and composites. A particular focus of his work has been the study of how materials such as carbon fibres and spider silk deform at the molecular level. He has also studied carbon-fibre composites, carbon nanotubes and the deformation of graphene — a one-atom thick sheet of carbon.

In his research, Young made a novel use of Raman spectroscopy. In this technique, laser light is shone onto a material and the wavelength and intensity of the resulting scattered light is measured and analysed. The changes in the light relate to changes in bond length between the atoms of the molecules in the material when the material is deformed.

Awards and honours Young received the 2011 Leslie Holliday Prize and the 2012 Swinburne Medal from the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, and delivered the Swinburne Lecture in 2013. His certificate of election reads: