Professor John Plane FRS

John Plane uses experimental and theoretical physical chemistry to investigate phenomena in environments ranging from planetary atmospheres to dust formation around stars. He has pioneered techniques for studying gas-phase reactions of metallic species, and is a world-leading expert on the chemistry of metals which ablate from cosmic dust particles in upper atmospheres.

He has also made significant contributions to understanding the chemistry of the Earth’s lower atmosphere - in particular iodine chemistry - using a combination of observations, laboratory studies and atmospheric modelling.

John Plane was born in South Africa. After his MA and PhD at the University of Cambridge and a research fellowship at St. John’s College (Cambridge), he has held appointments at the University of Miami (Florida), University of East Anglia, and the University of Leeds. He has been awarded the Royal Society of Chemistry Tilden Prize (2006), the European Geoscience Union Vilhelm Bjerknes Medal (2017), and was elected a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (2017). He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Royal Astronomical Society.

Professional position

  • Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University of Leeds

Subject groups

  • Astronomy and Physics

    Condensed matter incl softmatter, liquids, nano-materials, Astrophysics

  • Chemistry

    Chemistry, physical, Chemistry, theoretical

  • Earth and Environmental Sciences

    Atmospheric chemistry, Climate sciences, Ionospheric physics, Planetary science

Committees Participated Role
Faraday Discovery Fellowships Committee A July 2024 - December 2027 Member
International Exchanges Committee January 2023 - December 2025 Member
Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowships Selection Committee January 2022 - December 2027 Member
Sectional Committee 3: Chemistry November 2021 - September 2024 Member
Rosalind Franklin Award Committee January 2021 - December 2023 Member