Phyllis Nicolson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Phyllis Lockett 21 September 1917 Macclesfield, England |
| Died | 6 October 1968 Sheffield, England |
| Alma mater | Manchester University |
| Known for | Crank–Nicolson method |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematics,Physics |
| Thesis | Three Problems in Theoretical Physics[1] |
Phyllis Nicolson (21 September 1917 – 6 October 1968) was a British mathematician and physicist best known for her work on theCrank–Nicolson method together withJohn Crank.
Nicolson was born Phyllis Lockett inMacclesfield and went toStockport High School for Girls.[2] She graduated fromManchester University with a B.Sc. in 1938, M.Sc. in 1939 and a Ph.D. onThree Problems in Theoretical Physics in 1946.[2] Her Ph.D. thesis began withcosmic ray research conducted underLajos Jánossy during 1939 and 1940.[3]
Nicolson's Ph.D. was expected to be submitted in 1941 but was interrupted by wartime work withDouglas Hartree's research group atManchester University from 1940 to 1945. During this time, Nicolson became a proficient numerical analyst and an expert user of Hartree'sdifferential analyser.[4] Nicolson, along with other members of the research group worked on defence-related problems for theAir Defence Research and Development Establishment (later theRadar Research and Development Establishment), both part of theMinistry of Supply. Nicolson's two significant bodies of wartime research, "Transient behaviour in the single anode magnetron" and "heat conduction", formed the basis of parts II and III of her 1946 PhD thesisThree Problems in Theoretical Physics.[3]
Nicolson's research on heat conduction related to solutions of the heat equation, and with her colleague John Crank she investigated the numerical stability of several solution techniques. The algorithm now known as theCrank–Nicolson method emerged from this work and was published in 1947.[5]
Nicolson was a research student in Cambridge from 1945 and completed her Ph.D. thesis completed at the Victoria University of Manchester (nowManchester University) in 1946.[3] She was a Tucker-Price Research Fellow ofGirton College, Cambridge from 1946 to 1949, working at theCavendish Laboratory.[2][6] Nicolson moved to Leeds around January 1950 with her husband Malcolm Nicolson, also a physicist, as he had been appointed to a lectureship in Physics at Leeds University.[7][6] Phyllis Nicolson had married Malcolm in 1942 and they had two sons, Donald Macleod Nicolson (born 20 September 1947 in Cambridge) and Roderick Ian Nicolson (born 5 February 1950 in Leeds).[6]
Malcolm Nicolson, aged 33, died in a train accident in December 1951, and Phyllis was appointed to take over his lectureship.[8][7] In 1955, Nicolson married physicist Malcolm McCaig, who had a son Ian McCaig (born February 1946) from a previous marriage.[7][6] In May 1957, Nicolson and McCaig had a son together, Andrew Malcolm McCaig.[6] All three of Nicolson's sons ended up getting PhDs – in mathematics,[6] psychology,[9] and geology.[10]
Nicolson died from breast cancer in 1968 inSheffield.[7]
