PROFESSOR Roy Sambles FRS, from the University of Exeter, received a knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in October 2020.

Unfortunately, due to Covid, the ceremony to present him with his honour was delayed and took place on December 14.

Professor Sambles, from Exeter’s Physics and Astronomy department, received the distinguished honour for services to scientific research and outreach.

He has been professor of experimental physics at the University since 1991. His research now focuses on the electromagnetic and acoustic properties of metamaterials encompassing potential developments in “cloaking” as well as radio frequency communications.

His earlier work included studies of the fundamentals of melting, spin waves in alkali metals, liquid crystal optics and plasmonics.

Speaking about receiving the knighthood, Professor Sambles paid tribute to both his family and colleagues, and also acknowledged the importance of his Christian faith.

Professor Sambles said: "At last, after a long wait of well over a year due to Covid, we were delightfully welcomed in to Windsor Castle.

"The setting was magical, somewhat surreal, with immaculately uniformed Household Cavalry, Beefeaters and Gurkhas in attendance and Princess Anne graciously performing the sword on shoulders ritual.

"I was somewhat taken aback to discover, as 11am approached for the start of the ceremony, that I was first in order of those being invested. Then after the formalities were complete we exited the Castle to be greeted by several of our closest family and a number of encouraging onlookers, some of whom mistook us, we suspect, for Royalty as the Band of the Coldstream Guards had marched out playing just before us.

"Once in a lifetime! What an experience, and, after her dreadful nerves at breakfast had subsided, my wife, now extraordinarily Lady Sandra, and myself both thoroughly enjoyed the day. We both feel absolutely honoured and delighted."

Last October Professor Sambles said: “It is an absolute honour to receive a knighthood. I have been fortunate to receive support from so many places, including my amazing wife Sandy, our children and grandchildren, and my Christian faith and God’s guidance.

“I was also fortunate to have the support of a visionary Head of Department, Trevor Preist, while I have enormously valued working with and alongside some extremely talented colleagues and research students.

“Success has come through sheer hard work driven by a natural curiosity, but also it has always been so important to me to treat everyone equally and nurture and encourage them when I can.”

Born and educated at school in Cornwall, Professor Sambles has worked at the University of Exeter for more than 40 years and currently lives in Crediton.

After taking his undergraduate degree and doctorate at Imperial College London, he was a research fellow at Imperial for two years before being appointed as a lecturer in physics at Exeter in 1972.

He became a senior lecturer there in 1985, a reader in 1988 and was made professor in 1991.

He holds more than 20 patents and his research has helped to underpin technological developments at BAE, Sharp, QinetiQ, Hewlett Packard and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory.

He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 2002 and received the IOP’s Thomas Young Medal in 2003 and its Faraday Medal in 2012. He also received the George Gray Medal of the British Liquid Crystal Society in 1998.

Professor Sambles was, for six years, a member of the government funding agency for scientific research in UK Universities, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), and has served on many EPSRC committees and panels.

He was also a member of the 2014 REF Physics panel and was President of The Institute of Physics from 2015 to 2017.  In 2017 he was appointed Distinguished Visitor to the National Physical Laboratory. In 2018 he was made an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Physics.