Educated at Morgan Academy, Dundee and at St Andrews University; first class honours MA mathematics 1928; BSc physics 1929; scholarship to Trinity College, Cambridge and worked with Ralph H Fowler; spent two years at the University of Michigan working on the vibrations and rotations of molecules; returned to Cambridge and collaborated with W G Penney on infra-red and Raman spectroscopy; awarded the Stokes studentship of Pembroke College, Cambridge 1934; fellow 1935; during the 1939-1945 war worked on bomb disposal, and with a research group in Cambridge to identify main sources of fuel mixtures used by enemy aircraft; reader in spectroscopy Cambridge 1947; professor of physics University of Michigan, 1949.

From 1956-1964 he was Director of NPL and afterwards master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, 1964-1977.

He was elected as an FRS 1949, knighted 1960 and was the Vice-President of the Royal Society from 1961-1963.

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