British radio astronomer (1924–2021)
Antony Hewish (11 May 1924 – 13 September 2021) was a Britishradio astronomer who won theNobel Prize for Physics in 1974 (together with fellow radio-astronomerMartin Ryle )[ 4] pulsars . He was also awarded theEddington Medal of theRoyal Astronomical Society in 1969.[ 5] [ 6] [ 7]
Early life and education [ edit ] Hewish attendedKing's College, Taunton .[ 8] undergraduate degree , atGonville and Caius College, Cambridge , was interrupted by theSecond World War . He was assigned to war service at theRoyal Aircraft Establishment , and at theTelecommunications Research Establishment where he worked withMartin Ryle .[ 9] University of Cambridge in 1946, Hewish completed his undergraduate degree and became apostgraduate student inRyle's research team at theCavendish Laboratory .[ 8] PhD thesis , awarded in 1952, Hewish made practical and theoretical advances in the observation and exploitation of thescintillations ofastronomical radio sources , due to foregroundplasma .[ 10]
Career and research [ edit ] Hewish proposed the construction of a largephased array radio telescope, which could be used to perform asurvey at hightime resolution , primarily for studyinginterplanetary scintillation .[ 8] Interplanetary Scintillation Array , at theMullard Radio Astronomy Observatory (MRAO) outsideCambridge .[ 8] PhD students,Jocelyn Bell (later known as Jocelyn Bell Burnell), helped to build the array and was assigned to analyse its output.[ 8] pulsar . Hewish initially thought that the signal might beradio frequency interference ,[ 11] right ascension , which is unlikely for a terrestrial source.[ 1] [ 12] scientific paper announcing the discovery[ 12] listed first , Bell's second.
Hewish and Ryle were awarded theNobel Prize in Physics in 1974 for work on the development of radio aperture synthesis and for Hewish's decisive role in the discovery of pulsars. The exclusion of Bell from the Nobel prize was controversial (seeNobel Prize in Physics controversies ). Fellow Cambridge astronomerFred Hoyle argued that Bell should have received a share of the prize,[ 13] [ 14] Michael Rowan-Robinson later wrote that "Hewish was undoubtedly the major player in the work that led to the discovery, inventing the scintillation technique in 1952, leading the team that built the array and made the discovery, and providing the interpretation".[ 8]
Hewish at a conference in 1976 Hewish was professor of radio astronomy in theCavendish Laboratory from 1971 to 1989 and head of theMRAO from 1982 to 1988.[ 9] Royal Institution in London when it was directed by SirLawrence Bragg . In 1965 he was invited to co-deliver theRoyal Institution Christmas Lecture on "Exploration of the Universe". He subsequently gave several Friday Evening Discourses[ 7] [ 3] [ 15] fellow ofChurchill College, Cambridge . He was also a member of the Advisory Council for theCampaign for Science and Engineering .[ 16]
Hewish had honorary degrees from six universities, including Manchester, Exeter and Cambridge, was a foreign member of theBelgian Royal Academy ,American Academy of Arts and Sciences and theIndian National Science Academy . TheNational Portrait Gallery holds multiple portraits of him in its permanent collection.[ 17] [ 3]
Hewish married Marjorie Elizabeth Catherine Richards in 1950. They had a son, a physicist, and a daughter, a language teacher.[ 7] [ 21] [ 9]
Hewish argued that religion and science are complementary. In the foreword toQuestions of Truth virtual particles defies rational common sense and is non-intuitive for those unacquainted with physics. Religious belief in God, and Christian belief ... may seem strange to common-sense thinking. But when the most elementary physical things behave in this way, we should be prepared to accept that the deepest aspects of our existence go beyond our common-sense understanding."[ 22]
^a b Bell, Susan Jocelyn (1968).The Measurement of radio source diameters using a diffraction method repository.cam.ac.uk (PhD thesis). University of Cambridge.doi :10.17863/CAM.4926 .EThOS uk.bl.ethos.449485 .^ "Anthony Hewish" .Encyclopaedia Britannica . Retrieved16 January 2023 .^a b c d "HEWISH, Prof. Antony" Who's Who Oxford University Press ed.). A & C Black.(Subscription orUK public library membership required.) ^ István., Hargittai (2007) [2002].The road to Stockholm : Nobel Prizes, science, and scientists . Oxford: Oxford University Press.ISBN 978-0198607854 OCLC 818659203 . ^ Hewish, A. (13 June 1975)."Pulsars and High Density Physics" .Science .188 (4193):1079– 1083.Bibcode :1975Sci...188.1079H .doi :10.1126/science.188.4193.1079 .PMID 17798425 .S2CID 122436403 . ^ "Antony Hewish" .nobel-winners.com . 2006. Retrieved16 December 2015 .^a b c "Antony Hewish – Biographical" .nobelprize.org . 2015. Retrieved16 December 2015 .^a b c d e f Rowan-Robinson, Michael (3 October 2021)."Antony Hewish obituary" .The Guardian . Retrieved5 October 2021 .^a b c d e f g h "Professor Antony Hewish (1924 – 2021)" .Gonville & Caius College . 16 September 2021. Retrieved16 September 2021 .^ Hewish, Antony (1952).The Fluctuations of Galactic Radio Waves ^ Wamsley, Laurel (6 September 2018)."In 1974, They Gave The Nobel To Her Supervisor. Now She's Won A $3 Million Prize" .NPR . Retrieved1 March 2023 . ^a b Hewish, A.; Bell, S. J.; Pilkington, J. D. H.; Scott, P. F. & Collins, R. A. (February 1968)."Observation of a Rapidly Pulsating Radio Source" Nature 217 (5130):709– 713.Bibcode :1968Natur.217..709H .doi :10.1038/217709a0 .S2CID 4277613 . Retrieved16 December 2015 . ^ "The Life Scientific, Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell" .BBC Radio 4 . 25 October 2011. Retrieved16 December 2015 .^ Bell Burnell, S. Jocelyn (January 1979)."Little Green Men, White Dwarfs or Pulsars?" .Cosmic Search .1 (1): 16.Bibcode :1979CosSe...1...16B . Archived fromthe original on 6 June 2013. Retrieved16 December 2015 . ^ but according to a search of theRoyal Institution website[full citation needed he was Professor of Astronomy during 1976–1981 ^ "Advisory Council" .Campaign for Science and Engineering the original on 28 August 2010. Retrieved11 February 2011 .^ "Antony Hewish - Person - National Portrait Gallery" .National Portrait Gallery, London .Archived from the original on 17 February 2020. Retrieved17 September 2021 .^ "Professor Antony Hewish FRS" . London:Royal Society . Archived fromthe original on 17 November 2015.^ Longair, Malcolm S. (2022)."Antony Hewish. 11 May 1924—13 September 2021" .Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society .72 :173– 196.doi :10.1098/rsbm.2021.0045 S2CID 247453648 . ^ "Franklin Laureate Database – Albert A. Michelson Medal Laureates" .Franklin Institute the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved15 June 2011 .^ "The Papers of Professor Antony Hewish" .Churchill Archives Centre .Archived from the original on 4 October 2021. Retrieved11 October 2021 .^ Polkinghorne, John ; Beale, Nicholas (19 January 2009).Questions of Truth: Fifty-one Responses to Questions about God, Science, and Belief Westminster John Knox Press . p. 12.ISBN 978-1-61164-003-8 . Retrieved27 July 2012 .
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