Light People: Prof. Donal D C Bradley (FRS)

The invention of organic light emitting diodes (LEDs) led to enormous excitement in both academe and industry in the late 1980’s. Flexibility, large area solution processability, roll-to-roll printing, low cost, and environmentally friendly are some of the advantages of organic semiconductor materials, which brought a new horizon for optoelectronics. Together with the achievement of organic solar cells, transistors, lasers, and amplifiers, this has demonstrated potential applications of organic semiconductors in displays, lighting, solar energy generation, electronics, sensing and imaging, and many aspects of photonics. In an enlightened conversation with Light: Science & Applications, Prof. Donal Bradley (FRS), a pioneer in the field, shared his deep insights on past, current, and future exciting developments of organic optoelectronic materials and devices. In particular, he expressed his opinion on the hot topics related to organic optoelectronics research and application, such as the relationship between organic and inorganic semiconductors and the challenge of electrically pumped organic lasers. As a successful scientist, Donal has also been co-founder of several organic optoelectronics innovation companies and research centers and a long-term academic administrator serving as a Head of Department, Centre Director, and Vice-Rector for Research at Imperial College, Head of the Mathematical, Physical, and Life Sciences Division at the University of Oxford, Vice-President for Research at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and now Vice-President for Research and Innovation at NEOM U and Executive Director of the NEOM Education, Research and Innovation Foundation. Through this interview, we also explore the major roles and events in Donal’s career experience from the invention of the first conjugated polymer LED in the world to the set-up of entrepreneurial companies, from Cambridge to Sheffield, Imperial College, and Oxford, from the UK to overseas, and from the establishment of the Centre for Plastic Electronics in Imperial College to the set-up of the Oxford Suzhou Centre for Advanced Research (OSCAR). Before the end of the conversation, he also shares his interesting story of identifying a new species of Sea Bream, Acanthopagrus oconnorae (Bev Bradley’s Bream), named after his mother and wife, while fishing in the Red Sea.