Colin James Pennycuick FRS (11 June 1933—9 December 2019) was a British Scientist who studied

flight Flight or flying is the motion (physics), motion of an Physical object, object through an atmosphere, or through the vacuum of Outer space, space, without contacting any planetary surface. This can be achieved by generating aerodynamic lift ass ...

in birds, encompassing theoretical and practical research.

Life

He read biology at

Merton College Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor ...

, Oxford from 1951 to 1955. During this time he enlisted in the RAF, graduating to Flying Officer in 1956. He would later exploit his pilot skills to follow and study migrating birds. He earned his PhD in the Zoology Department at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in 1962, studying the

electromechanics Electromechanics combine processes and procedures drawn from electrical engineering and mechanical engineering. Electromechanics focus on the interaction of electrical and mechanical systems as a whole and how the two systems interact with each ...

of frog muscles, before moving to the animal behaviour laboratory for a postdoctoral position where he studied the homing of pigeons. In 1964 he joined the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

for the first of three periods in his research career, ending in 2015. During his career he was also associated with the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

and

Lund University Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...

. He was elected Fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

in 1990.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pennycuick, Colin James Fellows of the Royal Society British scientists 1933 births 2019 deaths Alumni of Merton College, Oxford