Professor John Joseph McGarvey, who died suddenly at the age of 78, had a distinguished and pioneering academic career at Queen's University of Belfast and was known internationally for his research in various topics of photophysics, in particular the laser spectroscopy of transition metal complexes.

As Professor Steven Bell, Director of Research at the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Queens, said: “Professor McGarvey was an inspirational teacher and supervisor and the post-graduate students who he supervised have in turn gone on to run their own Raman research groups across the world.”

For the spin-crossover community over the world, Professor John McGarvey has been well known for his pioneering works on the photoperturbation of spin equilibrium as well as for his time-resolved and Raman spectroscopic investigations of spin-crossover complexes. Yet, for us he has not only been a well-established international scientific mentor, but also a friend in the noblest sense of the word. He was of exceptional attention to his interlocutors, whether they were students, postdoctorates, or experienced researchers: John McGarvey will remain in our memory forever as an invaluable example.