Industrial Group Award

David Rendle was presented with the 1999 Industrial Group Award of the British Crystallographic Assn. The award recognized his contributions to the application of crystallography in forensic science.

Rendle studied at Loughborough U. of Technology, the Universities of Waterloo and Guelph, and the U. of British Columbia. He joined the Metropolitan Police Forensic Science Lab in 1975. He published papers covering sample preparation, paint pigment analysis, drugs and metabolite identification, the use of soft X-rays for detecting forgeries, re-sealed envelopes and even serial numbers filed off engine blocks. All this work has been carried out to the exacting standards needed for a Court of Law.

An active member of ICDD, he has championed the cause of organic phases in the Powder Diffraction File and currently chairs the Organic Materials sub-committee.

Steve Norval
BCA Crystallography News, June 1999