Douglas Samuel Jones (10 January 1922 – 29 November 2013) was a mathematician and electrical engineer known for his works in the field of

electromagnetism In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge via electromagnetic fields. The electromagnetic force is one of the four fundamental forces of nature. It is the dominant force in the interacti ...

. He was described by

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact (newspaper), compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until ...

as "one of the most outstanding British mathematicians of his generation".

Life

Jones was born 10 January 1922 in

Corby Corby is a town and civil parish in the North Northamptonshire district of Northamptonshire, England, northeast of Northampton. In 2021 it had a population of 68,164. From 1974 to 2021, it was the administrative headquarters of the Borough of ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

, and was educated at

Wolverhampton Grammar School Wolverhampton Grammar School is a co-educational private school in Wolverhampton, England. History Initially a grammar school for boys, WGS was founded in 1512 by Sir Stephen Jenyns, a master of the ancient guild of Merchant Taylors, who was ...

. He was the eldest of four children. In his spare time, Jones was known to enjoy golf, walking and photography. He and his wife Ivy had two children.

Career

In 1940, Jones began studying

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

at Clarendon Laboratory of the Corpus Christi College,

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

. Jones joined the RAF in 1942 and graduated MA in applied mathematics from Oxford in 1947. He then went to

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

to study

, but switched to physics, studying under

Victor Weisskopf Victor Frederick "Viki" Weisskopf (also spelled Viktor; September 19, 1908 – April 22, 2002) was an Austrian-born American theoretical physicist. He did postdoctoral work with Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrödinger, Wolfgang Pauli, and Niels Boh ...

Herman Feshbach Herman Feshbach (2 February 1917 – 22 December 2000) was an American physicist. He was an Institute Professor Emeritus of physics at MIT. Feshbach is best known for Feshbach resonance and for writing, with Philip M. Morse, ''Methods of The ...

, and Robley Evans. In the same years he led a research team looking at equipment for night fighter operations. Awarded MBE in 1945 for his work with the RAF. Jones then worked as a lecturer at

Manchester University The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

. In 1957 he was appointed chair of Mathematics at the

University of Keele Keele University is a public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire, it was granted university status by Royal Charter as ...

. During his time at Keele, Jones wrote the book ''The Theory of Electromagnetism'' in 1964 which established him as a leader in this field. In 1965, Jones was appointed to the Ivory Chair of Applied Mathematics at Queen's College, Dundee, then part of the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

, but which became the

University of Dundee The University of Dundee is a public research university based in Dundee, Scotland. It was founded as a university college in 1881 with a donation from the prominent Baxter family of textile manufacturers. The institution was, for most of its ...

in 1967. Jones retired from the University of Dundee in 1992, gaining the title Emeritus Professor.

Honours and awards

* 1945: Awarded

Most Excellent Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

* 1964: Fellow of the

Institute of Mathematics and its Applications The Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA) is the UK's chartered professional body for mathematicians and one of the UK's learned societies for mathematics (another being the London Mathematical Society). The IMA aims to advance ...

* 1967: Elected

Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

* 1968: Elected

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

* 1973: Awarded

Keith Medal The Keith Medal was a prize awarded by the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy, for a scientific paper published in the society's scientific journals, preference being given to a paper containing a discovery, either in mathema ...

of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

* 1975: Awarded Honorary

Doctor of Science A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...

by the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde () is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal charter in 1964 as the first techn ...

* 1975: Awarded

Marconi Prize The Marconi Prize is an annual award recognizing achievements and advancements made in field of communications (radio, mobile, wireless, telecommunications, data communications, networks, and Internet). The prize is awarded by the Marconi Society ...

by the

Institution of Electrical Engineers The Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) was a British professional organisation of electronics, electrical, manufacturing, and information technology professionals, especially electrical engineers. It began in 1871 as the Society of Tel ...

* 1980: Elected Honorary Fellow of Corpus Christi College * 1981: Awarded van der Pol Gold Medal of the

International Union of Radio Science The International Union of Radio Science (abbreviated ''URSI'', after its French name, ) is one of 26 international scientific unions affiliated to the International Council for Science (ICSU). History and objectives URSI was officially cr ...

* 1986: Awarded

Naylor Prize and Lectureship The Naylor Prize and lectureship in Applied Mathematics is a prize of the London Mathematical Society awarded every two years in memory of Dr V.D. Naylor. Only those who reside in the United Kingdom are eligible for the prize. The "grounds for aw ...

of the

London Mathematical Society The London Mathematical Society (LMS) is one of the United Kingdom's Learned society, learned societies for mathematics (the others being the Royal Statistical Society (RSS), the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA), the Edinburgh ...

* 1989: Fellow of the

* 2013: Life member of the

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is an American 501(c)(3) public charity professional organization for electrical engineering, electronics engineering, and other related disciplines. The IEEE has a corporate office ...

Publications

* ''Electrical and Mechanical Oscillations'' (1961) * ''Theory of Electromagnetism'' (1964) * ''Generalised Functions'' (1966) * ''Introductory Analysis'' (vol. 1, 1969; vol 2, 1970) * ''Methods in Electromagnetic Wave Propagation'' (1979, 2nd edn 1994) * ''Elementary Information Theory'' (1979) * ''The Theory of Generalised Functions'' (1982) * ''Differential Equations and Mathematical Biology'' (1983, 3rd edn 2010) * ''Acoustic and Electromagnetic Waves'' (1986) * ''Assembly Programming and the 8086 Microprocessor'' (1988) * ''80×86 Assembly Programming'' (1991) * ''Introduction to Asymptotics'' (1997)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Douglas Samuel 1922 births 2013 deaths People educated at Wolverhampton Grammar School Academics of Keele University Academics of the Victoria University of Manchester Academics of the University of St Andrews Academics of the University of Dundee Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford 20th-century British mathematicians 21st-century British mathematicians Fellows of Corpus Christi College, Oxford Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Members of the Order of the British Empire Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Air Force airmen Military personnel from Northamptonshire

Life

Career

Honours and awards

Publications

See also

References