David Beaglehole (8 January 1938 – 21 March 2014) was a New Zealand

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

Early life, family and education

Beaglehole was born in Wellington in 1938 into an academic family. His parents were American-born linguist Pearl Beaglehole (née Malsin) and her husband Ernest Beaglehole, a psychologist and ethnologist, who had met while they were both studying at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

. His uncle was historian John Beaglehole. Educated at Wellington College from 1951 to 1954, he then studied physics, chemistry and psychology at Victoria University College, graduating with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

in 1958 and a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

with first-class honours in 1960. He then carried out doctoral research into the optical properties of copper and gold in the far ultraviolet at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, 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 ...

under Tom Faber, and was awarded his

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in 1963. He had three children with his wife

Ann Beaglehole Ann Beaglehole (; born 1948) is a New Zealand writer and historian. In the 1950s, her family emigrated from Hungary to New Zealand as refugees following the Hungarian Revolution. She earned a PhD in history and a master's degree in creative wr ...

; after their marriage ended, he had another child with his long-term partner Bhagee Ramanathan.

Academic career

After post-doctoral research at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

from 1964 to 1966, Beaglehole was an assistant professor and then associate professor at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

. He returned to

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...

in 1969 as professor of physical electronics, and began research into condensed matter physics and astronomy at the university. He also developed an improved ellipsometric method for measuring the thickness of liquid interfaces, which led to the establishment of Beaglehole Instruments in 1993. Beaglehole was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand in 1992.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beaglehole, David 1938 births 2014 deaths Scientists from Wellington City People educated at Wellington College, Wellington Victoria University of Wellington alumni Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge University of Maryland, College Park faculty Academic staff of Victoria University of Wellington Fellows of the Royal Society of New Zealand 20th-century New Zealand physicists 21st-century New Zealand physicists New Zealand people of American descent

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...