Stephen Harrop

Dr Stephen Harrop worked on the macromolecular crystallography (MX1) and micro-focus crystallography (MX2) beamlines at the Australian Synchrotron. Stephen grew up in Leigh, close to Manchester (UK), where from a young age he took apart his toys to find out how they worked. He completed a degree in Physics at the University of York where he was introduced to crystallography by Prof. Michael Woolfson and Prof. Peter Main. He then completed a PhD with Prof. John Helliwell at the University of Manchester, where he studied the Laue method with synchrotron radiation. During this time, he conducted experiments at the Daresbury Laboratory where he was introduced to the practical arts of collecting and processing synchrotron data. This was followed by postdoctoral positions at the University of Manchester and the University of New South Wales. As a beamline scientist at the Australian Synchrotron, Stephen endeavoured to enable users to collect the best data possible from their crystals and improve software capabilities. He took joy in sharing his expertise with students and colleagues and was endlessly patient with their questions. There wasn’t a problem with the beamline that Stephen couldn’t solve by methodically working his way through layers of software and hardware to trace the fault to its source. Stephen had a wide range of interests and an unending curiosity to learn, with seemingly endless depths of knowledge about science, history, machines, and electronics. He passed away on the 17th Nov, 2024 at the age of 58 after a severe heart attack. His mother, Susan, was able to travel from the UK to be at his side. He will be deeply missed by his family, friends and colleagues.