Richard Southwell | |
---|---|
Born |
Richard Vynne Southwell 2 July 1888 Norwich |
Died | 9 December 1970 | (aged 82)
Nationality | British |
Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge |
Awards |
Timoshenko Medal (1959) Elliott Cresson Medal (1964) Fellow of the Royal Society |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Mathematics |
Institutions | University of Oxford |
Doctoral students |
Leslie Fox Olgierd Zienkiewicz |
Sir Richard Vynne Southwell, FRS (2 July 1888 – 9 December 1970) was a British mathematician who specialised in applied mechanics as an engineering science academic.
Richard Southwell was educated at Norwich School and the University of Cambridge, where in 1912 he achieved first class degree results in both the mathematical and mechanical science tripos. In 1914, he became a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, and a lecturer in Mechanical Sciences.
Southwell was in the Royal Naval Air Service during World War I. After World War I, he was head of the Aerodynamics and Structures Divisions at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough.
In 1920, he moved to the National Physical Laboratory. He then returned to Trinity College in 1925 as Fellow and Mathematics Lecturer in 1925. Next, in 1929, he moved to Oxford University as Professor of Engineering Science and Fellow of Brasenose College. Here, he developed a research group, including Derman Christopherson, with whom he worked on his relaxation method. He became a member of a number of UK governmental technical committees, including for the Air Ministry, at the time when the R100 and R101 airships were being conceived.