The funeral of one of Britain's top scientists, Dr Derek Robinson, who led nuclear fusion research at Culham Science Centre in recent years, takes place on December 14 in his home village of Appleford, near Abingdon.

Dr Derek Robinson

Dr Robinson, who was 61, and headed the Joint European Torus (JET) project, died at Sobell House in Oxford after a battle against cancer.

The service in his village parish church is for family and invited friends and colleagues.

A memorial service in the New Year is being considered. Four years ago, Dr Robinson, who was the UK Atomic Energy Authority's director of fusion research at Culham, was awarded the prestigious Institute of Physics' Guthrie Medal and Prize for his outstanding contribution in the field.

His career spanned forty years, first at Harwell Laboratory, then at Culham, and abroad in Russia, China and Japan.

He was the driving force behind the successful spherical tokamak approach to fusion, pioneered at Culham with first the START and now the MAST experiment in nuclear fusion.

Dr Robinson was a prime mover in the European and international fusion research scenes, including membership of the top committees for Europe's JET experiment at Culham.

He was held in the highest regard by the international fusion community, from whom many tributes have already been received.

He was Fellow of the Institute of Physics and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1994.

A keen horticulturalist, he took pride in his garden at his home in Church Lane, Appleford.

He is survived by his wife Marion and daughter Nicola.