Tribute to David J. Barber from Ignatius Tsong
In 1970, David had already established a reputation for himself with his deployment of ion-bombardment to produce ultra-thin specimens for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies. However, some unusual features were observed on the ion-thinned samples in the TEM images and David hired me as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Essex with funding from the National Physical Laboratory to study the development of surface topography during the ion-thinning process. The postdoctoral fellowship was my first job, and David was my first "boss". But I soon realized that David was such a perfectly kind gentleman that he could never behave like a boss. Rather he treated me like a friend and colleague, and our friendship lasted for 50 years. Throughout the years, we would meet and see each other all over the world, in the UK, Australia, USA, and Hong Kong. We had some wonderful time together. The last time I saw David, his wife Jill, and their dog Pipsqueak was at their home near Clacton-on-Sea over 10 years ago after his return from Hong Kong. He told me that he was continuing his research on moon rocks and other geological materials using the TEM at Cranfield. It is regretful that I did not see David more often. I am not exaggerating when I say that David was the nicest person whom I have ever got to know. I have never seen David getting angry at anything. His only form of anger was an expression of astonishment that some things did not happen the way they should. In David's passing, the world has lost not only an outstanding physicist, but an absolutely wonderful human being.
Tribute to David J. Barber from Ignatius Tsong
In 1970, David had already established a reputation for himself with his deployment of ion-bombardment to produce ultra-thin specimens for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies. However, some unusual features were observed on the ion-thinned samples in the TEM images and David hired me as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Essex with funding from the National Physical Laboratory to study the development of surface topography during the ion-thinning process. The postdoctoral fellowship was my first job, and David was my first "boss". But I soon realized that David was such a perfectly kind gentleman that he could never behave like a boss. Rather he treated me like a friend and colleague, and our friendship lasted for 50 years. Throughout the years, we would meet and see each other all over the world, in the UK, Australia, USA, and Hong Kong. We had some wonderful time together. The last time I saw David, his wife Jill, and their dog Pipsqueak was at their home near Clacton-on-Sea over 10 years ago after his return from Hong Kong. He told me that he was continuing his research on moon rocks and other geological materials using the TEM at Cranfield. It is regretful that I did not see David more often. I am not exaggerating when I say that David was the nicest person whom I have ever got to know. I have never seen David getting angry at anything. His only form of anger was an expression of astonishment that some things did not happen the way they should. In David's passing, the world has lost not only an outstanding physicist, but an absolutely wonderful human being.
