Professor George Gray developed liquid crystal technology at the University of Hull, for which the Chemistry department received the Queen’s Award for Technological Achievement in 1979 and a National Historic Chemical Landmark Award from the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2005.

Although the initial work here began in the 1970s, liquid crystal technology has continued to be developed at the University of Hull, with OLEDs being a potential new generation of liquid crystal display technology.

Professor Steve Kelly who worked with George Gray on the LCD development and is now working on the OLED technology, is best known for work on LCDs. He says: “It is an amazing feeling to walk around an electrical shop and see these huge LCD screen televisions- when I was working on this technology originally we never dreamed the screens could be this size. I remember how rewarding it was to work with liquid crystals in the 1970s; to see how our work led to a new era in TV manufacturing – from the bulky cathode ray tube to the streamlined liquid crystal displays – was quite spectacular. What we are experiencing with OLED technology is just as much of a seismic shift and to be a part of this cutting-edge optoelectronic research is immensely exciting.”

Learn more at the Department of Chemistry website.