Hutton ClaysAndMinerals.com is directed by Prof. Stephen Hillier but involves seven other key members of staff engaged primarily in the three principal techniques at the core of our business, X-ray Powder Diffraction, Electron Microscopy and Infra-red Spectroscopy.  All staff work closely together which is key to our ability to offer added value through insight and integrated interpretations rather than simply providing raw data in isolation.

There are now four members of staff involved mainly with XRPD – Prof. Steve Hillier, who leads this section, Dr Ian Phillips,  Miss Helen Pendlowski, and Miss Nia Gray-Wannell.

Ian, Steve, Helen and Nia have considerable experience in the application of XRPD to a wide variety of materials, and are always willing to chat about the capabilities of XRPD. Steve Hillier won the 2008 Reynolds Cup (a biennial event),  second in the 2012 and 2014 Reynolds Cup events and recently came third in the 2016 event attesting to the quality of the work performed in the XRPD lab at The James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen.

The James Hutton Institute has a long history of research on minerals, particularly clay minerals, and the Institute's XRPD laboratory, first established in the 1940’s, is a key part of this. XRPD is used extensively in the Institutes' research programmes on soils and sediments.

Electron microscopy is led by Dr Evelyne Delbos, with Mrs Laura-Jane Strachan, whilst the infra-red section is led by Dr Jean Robertson, with Mr Tony Fraser and Mrs Angela Main.

In addition we work alongside and have access to many specialist staff within the James Hutton Institute.

Contacts