In 1947 Thomas Grimley began his career at the University of Liverpool as an ICI Research Fellow, followed by a PhD in Theoretical Physics in 1950, where he worked with two of the most famous British physicists of the day; Sir Nevill Mott and Herbert Fröhlich. His extensive researches in theoretical chemistry have covered such topics as: lyophobic colloids; polymer solutions; oxidation of metals; the electronic structure of atoms, molecules and solids; static and dynamic aspects of chemisorption; and many-body effects in condensed matter. He is best known for his contributions to the development of theoretical surface science.

Amongst his many duties, Prof Grimley served as first Chairman of the SERC Collaborative Computational Project on Surface Science 1979-1983 and as a Collaborative Computational Projects Steering Panel and the SERC Computer Users’ Liaison Committee. He also served as a member of the Advisory Board of the journal ‘Surface Science’ and attended many international scientific meetings. One of his publications received the rare distinction of a Citations Classic for the number of times it has been cited in the literature, and the Fourth International Conference on Vibrations at Surfaces was dedicated in his honour in recognition of his contributions to the study of surfaces.

On 30 September 1984, Prof Grimley retired from a personal Chair in Chemistry after a career of 37 years with the University.