Graham Dixon-Lewis, MA, DPhil, FRS (1 July 1922 – 5 August 2010) was a British combustion engineer.

Early life

Dixon-Lewis was born Graham Lewis in

Caerleon Caerleon (; cy, Caerllion) is a town and community in Newport, Wales. Situated on the River Usk, it lies northeast of Newport city centre, and southeast of Cwmbran. Caerleon is of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roman ...

, Monmouthshire, the first of two children of Daniel Watson Lewis and Eleanor Jane Lewis (nee Anderson). The family name was changed to Dixon-Lewis by deed poll in 1944. He was educated at Newport High School and read chemistry at

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship S ...

, from 1940 to 1944. He earned a

DPhil A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in 1948, and studied with John Wilfrid Linnett.

Academic career

In 1953 he joined the Department of Coal Gas and Fuel Industries (later the Department of Fuel and Energy) at the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

as a research chemist, ultimately being appointed a

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in 1971 and then to a

personal chair Academic ranks in the United Kingdom are the titles, relative seniority and responsibility of employees in universities. In general the country has three academic career pathways: one focused on research, one on teaching, and one that combines th ...

in 1978. He retired from the University in 1987 with the title of Emeritus

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

.http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/community/obituaries/graham_dixon_lewis_1_2597926 In 1965, Dixon-Lewis was a

Visiting Professor In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic for which the visitor ...

at the

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

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, USA. He was a Visiting Scientist at the

Sandia National Laboratories Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), also known as Sandia, is one of three research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Headquartered in Kirtland Air Force Bas ...

Livermore, California Livermore (formerly Livermorès, Livermore Ranch, and Nottingham) is a city in Alameda County, California. With a 2020 population of 87,955, Livermore is the most populous city in the Tri-Valley. It is located on the eastern edge of Californ ...

in 1987 and at the

Max Planck Institute Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...

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in 1994.University of Leeds, Obituary
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Honours

In 1990 Professor Dixon-Lewis was awarded both the Egerton Gold Medal and the Silver Medal of

the Combustion Institute The Combustion Institute is an educational non-profit, international, scientific and engineering society whose purpose is to promote research in combustion science. The institute was established in 1954, and its headquarters are in Pittsburgh, Pen ...

. In 1993, he was the recipient of the

Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society (professional association) in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the Royal Instit ...

's Award for Combustion and Hydrocarbon Oxidation Chemistry. Two years later, he was awarded the Dionizy Smolenski Medal of the Combustion Section of the

Polish Academy of Sciences The Polish Academy of Sciences ( pl, Polska Akademia Nauk, PAN) is a Polish state-sponsored institution of higher learning. Headquartered in Warsaw, it is responsible for spearheading the development of science across the country by a society o ...

. In 1997 he received the Sugden Award of the British Section of

and in 2008 he was awarded the Huw Edwards Prize of the

Institute of Physics The Institute of Physics (IOP) is a UK-based learned society and professional body that works to advance physics education, research and application. It was founded in 1874 and has a worldwide membership of over 20,000. The IOP is the Physic ...

for services to combustion physics. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...

(FRS) in 1995.

Marriage and children

Dixon-Lewis married Patricia Mary Best in Oxford on 15 April 1950. They had a son and two daughters.

Death

Dixon-Lewis died suddenly at a bus stop in the centre of

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

on 5 August 2010 at the age of 88. He was survived by his wife and children.

References

External links

*http://combustion-uk.blogspot.com/2010/08/graham-dixon-lewis-dies-aged-88.html
Graham Dixon-Lewis publications Google scholar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dixon-Lewis, Graham 1922 births 2010 deaths Academics of the University of Leeds Fellows of the Royal Society Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford People educated at Newport High School