TRIBUTES Professor laid the foundations for hub
THE former head of the prestigious Cardiff University School of Engineering has died at the age of 75.
Honorary Distinguished Professor David Vernon Morgan, known as Vernon, died on June 12 after a career as an author, teacher and academic.
He obtained his BSc and MSc degrees at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, his PhD at Gonville and Caius College and the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge, and his DSc (Eng) at the University of Leeds.
He joined Cardiff University in 1985 and in addition to being a distinguished research professor, Prof Morgan was joint director of the Cardiff III-V Semiconductor and Microelectronics Centre and was a major force in developing this area of research at the university.
His work laid the foundations for the university’s recent emergence as a worldwide hub for compound semiconductors. He helped Mike Scott to establish the company Epitaxial Products International, the precursor to the world-renowned IQE, which has become Wales’ largest home-grown PLC.
To say his expertise was broad is an understatement. His research interests spanned the physics and technology of semiconductor materials, devices and integrated circuits, with particular emphasis on the use of gallium arsenide. This included ion implantation studies, metallisation systems, surface and defect characterisation, together with device simulation studies. He remained at the School of Engineering as a teacher and active researcher until his retirement in 2010, when he became an honorary distinguished professor.
He acted as a consultant in microelectronics and semiconductor materials to various organisations in the UK, USA and Canada, and served on a number of committees and boards of the Institute of Physics, the Institution of Electrical Engineers, the Ministry of Defence and the Science and Engineering Research Council.
He authored three textbooks and was a joint editor of the Wiley Series on Solid State Devices and Circuits (seven books), as well as editor of four research books on microwave devices and systems.
Under his leadership, Cardiff ’s School of Engineering became one of the foremost in the UK. He received a fellowship in 2006 for research achievements from his alma mater The University of Wales, Aberystwyth and was an advisor to the MoD Defence Scientific Advisory Council on Electronic Materials, among many other roles. This culminated in 2004 with Prof Morgan bring awarded the Papal Cross by Pope John Paul II for distinguished service to higher education.
After his retirement, Prof Morgan was an active member of the South Wales Institute of Engineers and also an enthusiastic Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales (LSW).
He was instrumental in the establishment of the Menalaus Medal for Engineering and Science awarded by the LSW and was also involved in the organisation of the prestigious Menelaus Memorial Lecture that takes place at Cardiff University every year.
He will be sadly missed by all who knew him. This includes the many generations of undergraduate and postgraduate students who he inspired, and the early career academics who he always found time to mentor. He is survived by wife Jean, daughter Suzanne, son Dyfrig, and their families.