Sir Alan Howard Cottrell, FRS[1] (17 July 1919 – 15 February 2012) was an English metallurgist and physicist. He was also former Chief Scientific Advisor to the UK Government and vice-chancellor of Cambridge University 1977–1979.

Sir Alan Cottrell
Born17 July 1919
Birmingham, Warwickshire (now West Midlands)
Died15 February 2012(2012-02-15) (aged 92)
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
NationalityEnglish
CitizenshipBritish
Alma materUniversity of Birmingham
Known forCottrell atmosphere
Lomer–Cottrell junction
Crack tip opening displacement
AwardsFellow of the Royal Society[1]
Hughes Medal (1961)
Harvey Prize (1974)
Rumford Medal (1974)
Copley Medal (1996)
Scientific career
FieldsMetallurgist, Physicist
Solvay Conference on Physics in Brussels 1951. Left to right, sitting: Crussaro, N.P. Allen, Cauchois, Borelius, Bragg, Moller, Sietz, Hollomon, Frank; middle row: Rathenau,(nl) Koster, Rudberg,(sv), Flamache, Goche, Groven, Orowan, Burgers, Shockley, Guinier, C.S. Smith, Dehlinger, Laval, Henriot; top row: Gaspart, Lomer, Cottrell, Homes, Curien

Early life

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Cottrell was educated at Moseley Grammar School and the University of Birmingham, where he gained a Bachelor of Science degree in 1939 and a PhD for research on welding in 1942.[2]

Career

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Cottrell joined the staff as a lecturer at Birmingham, being made professor in 1949, and transforming the teaching of the department by emphasising modern concepts of solid state physics.[3] In 1955 he moved to A.E.R.E. Harwell, to become Deputy Head of Metallurgy under Monty Finniston.[3]

From 1958 to 1965 Cottrell was Goldsmiths' Professor of Metallurgy at Cambridge University, and a fellow of Christ's College. He later worked for the government in various capacities, ultimately as Chief Scientific Adviser from 1971 to 1974,[4] before becoming Master of Jesus College, Cambridge, from 1973 to 1986,[5] and Vice-Chancellor of the university in 1977–1979.[6]

Death

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Cottrell died on 15 February 2012 after a brief illness.[7]

Awards and honours

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He was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.[15]

Selected books

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  • Theoretical Structural Metallurgy (1948) (E Arnold; 2nd Revised edition (1 January 1955)) (ISBN 0713120436)
  • Dislocations and Plastic Flows in Crystals (1953) (ISBN 978-0198512066)
  • Superconductivity (1964) (Harwood Academic (Medical, Reference and Social Sc; n edition (December 1964)) (ISBN 0677000650)
  • An Introduction to Metallurgy (1967) (ISBN 978-0901716934)
  • Portrait of Nature : the world as seen by modern science (1975) (ISBN 978-0684143552)
  • How Safe is Nuclear Energy? (1982) (Heinemann Educational Publishers (29 June 1981)) (ISBN 0435541757)
  • Concepts in the Electron Theory of Alloys (1998) (ISBN 978-1861250759)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Smallman, R. E.; Knott, J. F. (2013). "Sir Alan Cottrell FRS FREng. 17 July 1919 – 15 February 2012". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 59: 93–124. doi:10.1098/rsbm.2012.0042.
  2. ^ Charles, J A (February 2012). "Sir Alan Howard Cottrell ScD, FRS, FREng, LLD (Hon)" (PDF). Academia Europaea. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  3. ^ a b History of Metallurgy at Birmingham Engineering at Birmingham University
  4. ^ Scientists in Whitehall by Philip Gummett p49, available at Google books
  5. ^ a b Masters of Jesus College Archived 5 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ a b c Kaiser Danner (24 July 2017). "Alan Cottrell". Academia Europaea. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  7. ^ "Sir Alan Cottrell FRS – Christs College Cambridge". Archived from the original on 27 May 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  8. ^ Knott, John (18 March 2012). "Sir Alan Cottrell obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  9. ^ Hughes archive winners 1989 – 1902 Royal Society
  10. ^ The International Who's Who 2004
  11. ^ "Corporate Information". Archived from the original on 25 May 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  12. ^ "Sir Alan Howard Cottrell". American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  13. ^ Copley recent winners: 1990 – present day Royal Society
  14. ^ Holders of the Copley medal (1731–2005) Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press 2004
  15. ^ "The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences: Alan Cottrell". Archived from the original on 14 August 2017. Retrieved 1 May 2009.
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Government offices
Preceded by Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Government
1971–1974
Succeeded by
Academic offices
Preceded by Master of Jesus College, Cambridge
1973–1986
Succeeded by
Preceded by Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge
1977–1979
Succeeded by