Clive Selwyn Davis (15 April 1916 – 29 October 2009) was a Professor in Mathematics at the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = ...

and veteran of World War II. He took his PhD in mathematics at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, and upon his return to Australia worked to improve the study of mathematics at the University of Queensland over the next 30 years.

Education

Clive Selwyn Davis was born in

Sydney, Australia Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and List of cities in Oceania by population, Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metro ...

. He and his family of four siblings lived in the

Strathfield Strathfield is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the Municipality of Strathfield. A smal ...

area. He attended Summer Hill and Homebush primary schools and then went to

Sydney Technical High School Sydney Technical High School (STHS) is a government-funded single-sex academically selective secondary day school for boys, located in Bexley, a southern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1911 as part of Sydney Techn ...

. He enrolled at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public university, public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one o ...

, at first being attached to Engineering, before transferring to Science. He took a First Class Honours degree in Mathematics in 1937, followed by First Class Honours in Physics in 1938 and a M.Sc. in 1939. After World War II, he obtained a scholarship to

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

and was awarded his PhD in

number theory Number theory (or arithmetic or higher arithmetic in older usage) is a branch of pure mathematics devoted primarily to the study of the integers and integer-valued functions. German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777–1855) said, "Math ...

in 1949, under the supervision of

Louis Mordell Louis Joel Mordell (28 January 1888 – 12 March 1972) was an American-born British mathematician, known for pioneering research in number theory. He was born in Philadelphia, United States, in a Jewish family of Lithuanian extraction. Educati ...

Military

At the University of Sydney, Davis joined the Air Squadron there in 1936. He trained as a pilot in the

Royal Australian Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve or RAAF Reserve is the common, collective name given to the reserve units of the Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , mar ...

. After completing his M.Sc. he travelled to England on a CSIR post-graduate scholarship to conduct research on aircraft instruments and aerodynamics at the

Royal Aircraft Establishment The Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), before finally losing its identity in me ...

Farnborough Farnborough may refer to: Australia * Farnborough, Queensland, a locality in the Shire of Livingstone United Kingdom * Farnborough, Hampshire, a town in the Rushmoor district of Hampshire, England ** Farnborough (Main) railway station, a rail ...

, intending to return to Australia and work at the

Aeronautical Research Laboratories The Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) is part of the Australian Department of Defence dedicated to providing science and technology support to safeguard Australia and its national interests. The agency's name was changed from Defence ...

. When World War II began, he volunteered in the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

and served with distinction in two tours of the Middle East and Europe. and was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross in 1941. As a scientist and pilot he was involved in developing and deploying radar. He worked for the air Ministry in a new special unit which monitored and oversaw developments deployed in fighter and bomber commands. He later transferred to the RAAF, and returned to Australia. He would serve on the Air Staff of the RAAF, and was mentioned in the official war history for his role in the development of operations research. In the last part of the war, he commanded 103 Squadron of Liberator heavy bombers, in their operations from North Queensland and

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. He retired with the rank of

Wing Commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historic ...

Career

After the war, Davis took his PhD at Cambridge and resumed his career in mathematics . He lectured at the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a Red brick university, red brick Russell Group research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Society of Merchant Venturers, Merchant Venturers' sc ...

for seven years and was then appointed the chair of Mathematics at the

in 1956, following on from Henry James Priestley and Eugene Francis Simonds. He led the Mathematics Department there for 27 years, retiring in 1983. Davis campaigned for his new Department, finding that it was at least 20 years behind other universities he had attended. He fought for a new building for the Department, improving teaching with the introduction of a separate Honours stream, tutorial classes and recruiting new staff . He fought for a separate Mathematics Library, which when it was formed, was named in his honour. ( It was later absorbed by the Dorothy Hill Engineering and Sciences Library at UQ in 1997. His name remains attached to the collection, as does

Dorothy Hill Dorothy Hill, (10 September 1907 – 23 April 1997) was an Australian geologist and palaeontologist, the first female professor at an Australian university, and the first female president of the Australian Academy of Science. Education Dorot ...

and

Thomas Parnell Thomas Parnell (11 September 1679 – 24 October 1718) was an Anglo-Irish poet and clergyman who was a friend of both Alexander Pope and Jonathan Swift. He was born in Dublin, the eldest son of Thomas Parnell (died 1685) of Maryborough, Queen' ...

, whose Geology and Physics libraries respectively were absorbed by the new library.) He was a member of the University Senate for 10 years, and was active in setting up the FSSU superannuation scheme. He served on the University Research Committee, for seven years, three as Chairman. He was President of the

Royal Society of Queensland The Royal Society of Queensland was formed in Queensland, Australia in 1884 from the Queensland Philosophical Society, Queensland's oldest scientific institution, with royal patronage granted in 1885. The aim of the Society is "Progressing sci ...

in 1966. He was Treasurer of the

Australian Mathematical Society The Australian Mathematical Society (AustMS) was founded in 1956 and is the national society of the mathematics profession in Australia. One of the Society's listed purposes is to promote the cause of mathematics in the community by representing ...

from 1956 to 1968, and its President from 1968 to 1970. He was a founding member of the Great Barrier Reef Committee and

Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland The Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland (Wildlife Queensland) based in Queensland, Australia is a not-for-profit organisation which aims to engage communities to deliver conservation outcomes. Founded in 1962, Wildlife Queensland works ...

. He published papers from 1945 until 1951, with his PhD being featured in

Acta Mathematica ''Acta Mathematica'' is a peer-reviewed open-access scientific journal covering research in all fields of mathematics. According to Cédric Villani, this journal is "considered by many to be the most prestigious of all mathematical research jou ...

. He returned to scholarly publishing in 1978. Davis married Antoinette "Toni" Lowing in Melbourne in 1943; they had three children, and later adopted a sont. Clive Davis died in 2009

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Clive Selwyn People from Sydney Australian mathematicians Academic staff of the University of Queensland University of Sydney alumni Place of death missing Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge 2009 deaths 1916 births Australian expatriates in the United Kingdom