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Tim Richardson was born in North Ferriby, near Hull, on 5 April 1964. He went to school in York and read physics at Durham University before continuing to a DPhil at the University of Oxford, where he studied the extremely thin but highly structured layers of organic material known as a Langmuir-Blodgett film.

After completing his doctorate in 1989, Dr Richardson worked briefly in industry as a research engineer for Thorn EMI but then returned to the academy two years later when he joined the physics and astronomy department at the University of Sheffield as a lecturer. He was promoted to senior lecturer in 1997 and reader in nanoscience in 2007. He would also serve as a visiting professor at three Malaysian universities and the University of S?o Paulo in Brazil.

A leading researcher in his field, Dr Richardson specialised in the molecular processes responsible for various observed physical effects in thin organic films - work that had important practical applications in the fields of toxic gas sensing, solar cells and nano-electronics. He eventually published more than 150 papers in scientific journals and supervised 28 PhD students.

As well as his achievements in cutting-edge research, Dr Richardson was a well-liked undergraduate teacher and helped to popularise his subject. In November 2011, he raised more than ?8,000 for Children in Need by carrying out a 24-hour lecture marathon for staff, students and local schoolchildren. Talks ranged from demanding topics such as ¡°Porphyrins¡± to ¡°Big Physics, Little Physics¡± and ¡°Harry Potter - Science/Fiction?¡±

David Mowbray, professor of physics at Sheffield, recalled that Dr Richardson¡¯s enthusiasm for practical demonstrations had turned his office into ¡°an Aladdin¡¯s cave of wonderment for visitors¡±. He had also ¡°inspired Sheffield students for more than 20 years with his sense of fun and ability to explain a wide range of difficult concepts. He brought to his role of first-year physics tutor a very caring and gentle nature, supporting countless students as they made the transition to university life.¡± Although his lecture marathon remains a fixture in the Sheffield calendar, it now requires ¡°significantly more than one person to cover the 24 hours¡±.

Diagnosed with terminal cancer in the summer of 2012, Dr Richardson continued to be active and productive. He set up a charity, Inspiration for Life, and described his experiences in a powerful, soon-to-be-published diary titled For When I¡¯m Sleeping, which will be used as a fundraiser for the charity. He died on 5 February and is survived by his wife Sue and their two sons.

matthew.reisz@tsleducation.com