John Campbell Brown

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For other people named John Brown, see John Brown (disambiguation).

John Campbell Brown
Academic advisor
Peter Alan Sweet
Position heldAstronomer Royal for Scotland (1995–2019) Edit this on Wikidata

John Campbell Brown

FRSE (4 February 1947 – 16 November 2019) was a Scottish astronomer who worked primarily in solar physics. He held the posts of Astronomer Royal for Scotland, the Regius Professor of Astronomy at the University of Glasgow, and honorary professorships at both the University of Edinburgh and the University of Aberdeen
.

Personal life

Brown was born in Dumbarton, Scotland, in 1947. His interest in astronomy started around age eight, when he read a science fiction novel by Patrick Moore. It developed further in 1957 when he saw Comet Arend–Roland through binoculars when aged 10, in the same year that the Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank Observatory opened and Moore's television series The Sky at Night began. Brown built telescopes in his youth, helped by his father, who was an engineer.[1]

He later married Margaret, and had two children. He died suddenly at his home on the Isle of Skye in the early hours of Saturday 16 November 2019, at the age of 72.[1]

Education

Brown went to Hartfield Primary in Dumbarton from 1952 to 1958 and

higher doctorate) in plasma astrophysics in 1984.[2]

Career

The University of Glasgow employed him as an astronomy

honorary professor at the University of Edinburgh from 1996, and the University of Aberdeen from 1998.[2][3]

He taught astronomy at all university levels, from first year undergraduate to postgraduate courses.[4]

Research

He led the University of Glasgow research group in theory and modelling of solar and stellar plasmas. Brown used spacecraft data to investigate solar high energy particles and studied solar flares.[4] He is perhaps best known in the community for the development of the Cold Thick Target Model for Solar X-Ray generation. [5] [6]

Outreach

In his role as Astronomer Royal for Scotland, he gave public talks and performances to generate wider awareness of astronomy and its role in culture.

magic tricks[8] and poetry in the Scots language.[9]

Honours

He was elected a fellow of the

Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to the promotion of astronomy and science education.[11]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to John Campbell Brown.
  1. ^ a b c d e f "John Brown, Astronomer Royal for Scotland". 17 November 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "John C Brown: Astronomer Royal for Scotland/Resume". www.johncbrown.org.
  3. ^ "Prof. John Brown, OBE (1947 – 2019)". University of Glasgow. 18 November 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  4. ^ a b "School of Physics and Astronomy People". Astro.gla.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 10 March 2010. Retrieved 16 June 2010.
  5. ^ "The Directivity and Polarisation of Thick Target X-Ray Bremsstrahlung from Solar Flares".
  6. ^ "John C Brown: Astronomer Royal for Scotland/Research Interests".
  7. ^ "The Royal observatory, Edinburgh:Astronomer Royal for Scotland". Roe.ac.uk. Retrieved 16 June 2010.
  8. ^ a b c Massey, Robert (18 November 2019). "Professor John Brown, OBE, 1947-2019". Royal Astronomical Society. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  9. ^ Wilson, Rab (28 March 2019). "Oor big braw cosmos: Tae infinity an ayont …!". The National (in Scots). Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  10. ^ "RSE List of Fellows" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 June 2004. Retrieved 16 March 2007.
  11. ^ "No. 61608". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 June 2016. p. B11.
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