Tom Parry Jones

Thomas Parry Jones OBE (27 March 1935 – 11 January 2013) was a Welsh scientist, inventor and entrepreneur, who was responsible for developing and marketing the first handheld electronic breathalyser, winning the Queen's Award for Technological Achievement in 1980 for the work. Born and raised on Anglesey, he attended Bangor University and went on to study for his doctorate at University of Alberta, Canada. Prior to his work on the breathalyser at Lion Laboratories, he was a lecturer at the Royal Military College of Science and the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology. He established the Dr Tom Parry Jones Endowment Fund at Bangor University in 2002. After selling Lion Laboratories in 2005, he set up PPM Technology and Welsh Dragon Aviation. A trust was set up in his, and his wife's, names. The Tom and Raj Jones Trust promotes work by young entrepreneurs.

Early life, education and early career Parry Jones was born on 27 March 1935 at Carreglefn, near Amlwch, Anglesey, North Wales, the son of a farmer. He was a native Welsh language speaker, which he used as a first language. Parry Jones attended the primary school at Carreglefn and the Ysgol Syr Thomas Jones comprehensive school at Amlwch. He studied chemistry at Bangor University, graduating in 1958, and then took a doctorate at the University of Alberta, Canada.

Following his doctorate, Parry Jones appointed as a lecturer at the Royal Military College of Science at Shrivenham, Oxfordshire. In 1964, he moved to the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology (UWIST) at Cardiff.

In 1969, Lion Laboratories' version of the breathalyser, known as the Alcolyser, and incorporating crystal-filled tubes that changed colour (yellow to green) above a certain level of alcohol in the breath.

Other activities Parry Jones later set up PPM Technology, a company manufacturing instruments for monitoring toxic gases. In 2005, he was named a fellow of Bangor University.

Endowment Fund In about 2002, he established the Dr Tom Parry Jones Endowment Fund, at Bangor University, to encourage young people to develop careers and entrepreneurship in science and technology. The fund supports an annual Bangor Science Festival. He was also chairman of the Welsh Centre for International Affairs; and a trustee of the Engineering Education Scheme for Wales.

Death On 11 January 2013, Parry Jones died at Llandudno General Hospital, aged 77, following a short illness. Coinciding with that lecture, the Jones o Gymru Crisp company released a sweet chilli crisp dedicated to Parry Jones's achievements, which raised money for the Trust.