Arnold Wolfendale | |
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| Born | (1927-06-25)25 June 1927 Rugby, Warwickshire, England, UK |
| Died | 21 December 2020(2020-12-21) (aged 93) Durham, England, UK |
| Alma mater | University of Manchester |
| Known for | Astronomer Royal Cosmic rays[2] |
| Spouses | |
| Awards | FInstP (1958) FRAS (1973)[1] Fellow of the Royal Society (1977)[2] Marian Smoluchowski Medal (1992) Knight Bachelor (1995) Homi Bhabha Medal and Prize (2011) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics |
| Institutions | University of Manchester Durham University University of Ceylon University of Hong Kong |
| Thesis | The nuclear interactions of mu-mesons (1953) |
| Doctoral students | George Efstathiou[3] |
| 14th Astronomer Royal | |
| In office 1991–1995 | |
| Preceded by | Francis Graham Smith |
| Succeeded by | Martin Rees |
Sir Arnold Whittaker Wolfendale[2][4] (25 June 1927 – 21 December 2020) was a British astronomer who served as the fourteenthAstronomer Royal from 1991[5] to 1995. He was Professor of Physics atDurham University from 1965 until 1992[6] and served as president of theEuropean Physical Society (1999–2001).[7] He was president of theRoyal Astronomical Society from 1981 to 1983.[8]
Wolfendale was born inRugby, Warwickshire on 25 June 1927.[1][9] His family moved toFlixton,Lancashire when he was 18 months. He attendedStretford Grammar School near Manchester. Wolfendale graduated with aBachelor of Science in physics from theUniversity of Manchester in 1948, followed by aPhD in 1953[10] and aDoctor of Science in 1970.
During his career he held academic posts at the universities ofUniversity of Manchester (1951–6),Durham University (1956–92), theUniversity of Ceylon and theUniversity of Hong Kong. He was Professor of Physics at Durham 1965–92, including a period as head of department, and remained anemeritus professor until his death.
In 1965, he was part of the team that first detectedneutrinos at theKolar Gold Fields.[11]
Wolfendale was elected a fellow of theRoyal Astronomical Society in 1973, and a Fellow of theRoyal Society in 1977.[2] He served as Astronomer Royal from 1991 to 1995. In 1992, Wolfendale retired from teaching, and he was knighted in 1995. In 1996 he became professor of experimental physics with theRoyal Institution of Great Britain. A lecture theatre in Durham University's new Calman Learning Centre has been named in his honour. He was an honorary DSc of Bucharest University and foreign member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. His nomination for the Royal Society reads
Distinguished for his many contributions to the study of the cosmic radiation through a wide-ranging series of experimental investigations and critical analyses of cosmic ray data. Well known for his development of two novel techniques: the neon flash tube, a visual detector of great stability used widely in spectrographs and cosmic ray neutrino and quark studies, and the 'solid iron' spectrograph. Internationally recognised as the leading authority on muon spectra and charge ratios at ground level and at various depths underground in the energy range 5 x 10 [to the power of] 8-10 [to the power of 13] eV, measurements which are among the most basic data of cosmic rays. Measured the spectra of cosmic ray protons, neutrons and pions and from these data and the muon spectrum determined the primary spectrum and K/pi ratio. Results on the interactions of muons were of importance in a number of other investigations, e.g. in the Davis experiment on solar neutrinos. Introduction of the neon flash tube technique to the Indian and South African experiments on cosmic ray neutrinos was decisive and led to the clear identification of neutrino interactions and the determination of the cross section as a function of energy. Has established recently fine astrophysical groups in Durham which have already made useful contributions to the theory of the propagation of cosmic rays in the galaxy, to the explanation of the ultra-high energy end of the primary spectrum and to the origin of the gamma-ray background radiation. His optical group under Scarrott has recently obtained a beautiful map of the galaxy M82 in Rayleigh scattered light, and from it an accurate position for the luminous nucleus.[2]
In 1992 Wolfendale became patron of theSociety for Popular Astronomy and was a keen supporter of its activities. He openedKielder Observatory, Northumberland in 2008,[12] and was its Patron.[13] In 2009 he was the 156th president of theBirmingham and Midland Institute.[14] From April 2013, he was one of the two honorary vice presidents of theSociety for the History of Astronomy.[15]
He married Audrey Darby in 1951. They had twin sons. His wife Audrey died in 2007. He married anthropologist Dorothy Middleton, at Durham Cathedral, on 5 September 2015.[16] Wolfendale died in December 2020 at the age of 93.[17][18]
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