Nicholas J. Phillips

Nick Phillips
Nicholas John Phillips wearing a holographic bolo tie, c. 2003.
Born	(1933-09-26)26 September 1933 Finchley, London, United Kingdom
Died	23 May 2009(2009-05-23) (aged 75) Loughborough, United Kingdom
Residence	United Kingdom
Citizenship	British
Fields	Physicist
Institutions	De Montfort University (DMU) Loughborough University (LUT) Sperry Rand Research Centre English Electric AWRE Aldermaston
Alma mater	Imperial College
Known for	Display Holograms Phillips-Bjelkhagen Ultimate (PBU)
Influenced	Derek Abbott
Notable awards	Thomas Young Medal (1981)

Nicholas (Nick) John Phillips (26 September 1933 – 23 May 2009) was an English physicist, notable for the development of photochemical processing techniques for the color hologram. Holograms typically used to have low signal-to-noise ratios, and Phillips is credited as the pioneer of silver halide holographic processing techniques for producing high-quality reflection holograms.

Phillips graduated with a BSc degree in physics from Imperial College, London. He was a senior researcher at the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment (AWRE), Aldermaston, from 1959-1962. He was a research scientist at the Sperry Rand Research Centre, Sudbury, Massachusetts, United States, from 1962-1963. He was a theoretical physicist at English Electric, Whetstone, Leicester, UK, from 1963-1965. From 1965-1993 he was appointed at Loughborough University, where he rose to Professor of Applied Optics. In October 1993, he was appointed as Professor of Imaging Science at De Montfort University, Leicester, UK. Phillips was the co-founder in the early 1970s of Holoco, who using lasers supplied by The Who (that had been used in laser light shows during their concerts), constructed the Light Fantastic exhibitions as The Royal Academy of Arts, London, in 1977-8. The company became Advanced Holographics in 1980 when The Who withdrew their financial backing, and was based in Loughborough, UK, and later became part of Markem Systems.