Hermann Bondi
Awards | Gold Medal of the RSA (2001) Gold Medal od IMA (1988) Albert Einstein Medal (1983) Guthrie Medal (1973) James Scott Prize Lectureship (1960-1963) Order of the Bath (1973) Fellow of the Royal Society (1959)[1] |
---|---|
Scientific career | |
Fields | Mathematics Physical cosmology |
Institutions | King's College London University of Cambridge |
Academic advisors | Harold Jeffreys[1] Arthur Eddington[2] |
Doctoral students | Felix Pirani Roger Tayler[2] |
3rd Master of Lord Broers | |
Sir Hermann Bondi
He is best known for developing the
Early life
Bondi was born in
In the early years of World War II, he was
Career
Bondi lectured in mathematics in the University of Cambridge from 1945 to 1954. He was a fellow of Trinity College from 1943 to 1949 and from 1952 to 1954.[citation needed]
In 1948, Bondi,
Bondi was one of the first to correctly appreciate the nature of
He became a professor in
Other work
Bondi was also active outside the confines of academic lecturing and research. He held many positions:
- Director-General of the European Space Research Organisation (ESRO) (1967–1971) (which later became the European Space Agency, ESA)
- Chief Scientific Adviser to the Ministry of Defence (1971–1977)
- Chief Scientific Adviser to the Department of Energy(1977–1980)
- Chairman of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) (1980–1984)
- President of the Society for Research into Higher Education (1981–1997)
- President of the Hydrographic Society (1985–1987)
- Master of Churchill College, Cambridge (1983–1990).
He became a fellow of the
His report into the flooding of London in 1953 led eventually to the building of the Thames Barrier. He also supported the proposal for a Severn Barrage to generate electricity, but this project was not carried forward.
His papers from 1940 to 2000 are archived in 109 archive boxes by the Janus Project.[17]
Personal life
His parents were
He married Christine Stockman, also a mathematician and astronomer, in 1947; she had been one of Hoyle's research students and like him she went on to be active in the humanist movement. Together, they had two sons and three daughters, one of whom is Professor Liz Bondi, feminist geographer at the University of Edinburgh. He died at Cambridge in 2005, aged 85[19] and his ashes were scattered at Anglesey Abbey near Cambridge. Christine died in 2015.
References and notes
- ^ S2CID 70786803.
- ^ a b Hermann Bondi at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
- ^ "Sir Hermann Bondi – British scientist".
- ^ "Sir Hermann Bondi: 1919–2005 – physicsworld.com". Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
- ^ "Since his childhood in Vienna Bondi had been an atheist, developing from an early age a view on religion that associated it with repression and intolerance. This view, which he shared with Hoyle, never left him. On several occasions he spoke out on behalf of freethinking, so-called, and became early on active in British atheist or "humanist" circles. From 1982 to 1999, he was president of the British Humanist Association, and he also served as president of the Rationalist Press Association of United Kingdom." Helge Kragh: "Bondi, Hermann", Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography Vol. 19 p. 343. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2008. Accessed via Gale Virtual Reference Library Archived 27 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine 29 April 2008.
- ^ In a letter to the Guardian, Jane Wynne Willson, Vice-President of the British Humanist Association, added to his obituary: "Also president of the Rationalist Press Association from 1982 until his death, and with a particular interest in Indian rationalism, Hermann was a strong supporter of the Atheist Centre in Andhra Pradesh. He and his wife Christine visited the centre a number of times, and the hall in the science museum there bears his name. When presented with a prestigious international award, he divided a large sum of money between the Atheist Centre and women's health projects in Mumbai." Obituary letter: Hermann Bondi, Guardian, 23 September 2005 (accessed 29 April 2008).
- S2CID 39819.
- ^ S2CID 117895540.
- ^ S2CID 120125096.
- ^ Obituaries:
- Professor Sir Hermann Bondi (12 September 2005) in The Independent.
- Professor Sir Hermann Bondi (2005-09-13) in The Telegraph.
- Sir Hermann Bondi (2005-09-14) in The Guardian.
- Sir Hermann Bondi: 1919–2005 (2005-09-14) in Physics World, IOP.
- Black hole scientist Bondi dies (2005-09-17), BBC News.
- ^ "Oral History interview transcript with Hermann Bondi 1978-03-20, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library and Archives". American Institute of Physics. 6 January 2015.
- .
- ISBN 0-08-037235-X.
The 1962 paper I regard as the best scientific work I have ever done, which is later in life than mathematicians supposedly peak.
- ^ David Robinson, Gravitation and general relativity at King's College London, European Physical Journal H 44, pp 181–270 (2019)
- ^ "IMA Gold Medal". Retrieved 16 May 2018. Institute of Mathematics and its Applications
- ^ "Corporate Information". www.bath.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 25 May 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
- ^ The Papers of Sir Hermann Bondi (Janus Project)
- ^ "Humanist Manifesto II". American Humanist Association. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
- ^ GRO Register of deaths: SEP 2005 D67C 21 CAMBRIDGE – Hermann Bondi, DoB = 1 Nov 1919, aged 85
Further reading
- Christina Sormani; C. Denson Hill; Paweł Nurowski; ISSN 1088-9477.
External links
- Media related to Hermann Bondi at Wikimedia Commons
- Oral history interview transcript with Hermann Bondi on 20 March 1978, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives
- Portraits of Hermann Bondi at the National Portrait Gallery, London
- The Papers of Sir Hermann Bondi, held at Churchill Archives Centre