Jason Meredith Reese (24 June 1967 – 8 March 2019 was a British engineering scientist, and Regius Professor of Engineering at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. His research was in multiscale flow systems in which the molecular or discrete nature of the fluid determines the overall fluid dynamics. A winner of the

Philip Leverhulme Prize The Philip Leverhulme Prize is awarded by the Leverhulme Trust to recognise the achievement of outstanding researchers whose work has already attracted international recognition and whose future career is exceptionally promising. The prize schem ...

for Engineering (

Leverhulme Trust The Leverhulme Trust () is a large national grant-making organisation in the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the n ...

), the Lord Kelvin Medal (

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh 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 established i ...

), and a

MacRobert Award The MacRobert Award is regarded as the leading prize recognising UK innovation in engineering by corporations. The winning team receives a gold medal and a cash sum of £50,000. The annual award process begins with an invitation to companies to ...

(

Royal Academy of Engineering The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering. The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senior ...

) finalist, he was previously Weir Professor of Thermodynamics & Fluid Mechanics, and Head of the Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Department, at the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) 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 char ...

, Glasgow.

Education

Jason Reese studied at

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a ...

, graduating in Physics in 1988. He completed his Masters and Doctoral research in Applied Mathematics at the

University of Oxford 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 world's second-oldest university in contin ...

in 1993, where he was one of the last research students of

Leslie Colin Woods Leslie Colin Woods (6 December 1922 – 15 April 2007) was a New Zealand mathematician. Early life and education Woods was born on 6 December 1922 in Reporoa, New Zealand. Woods' father was a fisherman. His surname was originally Woodhead. H ...

Career and research

After his PhD, Reese moved into engineering and was a

postdoctoral researcher A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to pu ...

at the

Technical University of Berlin The Technical University of Berlin (official name both in English and german: link=no, Technische Universität Berlin, also known as TU Berlin and Berlin Institute of Technology) is a public research university located in Berlin, Germany. It was ...

, and 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 ...

. In 1996 he became a lecturer in Engineering in the

University of Aberdeen , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

, and then joined King's College London in 2001 as Lecturer and ExxonMobil Engineering Fellow. He moved to the

in 2003 as the Weir Professor of Thermodynamics & Fluid Mechanics, and was latterly Head of the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering. In 2013 he was appointed to the

Regius Professorship A Regius Professor is a university professor who has, or originally had, royal patronage or appointment. They are a unique feature of academia in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The first Regius Professorship was in the field of medicine, and ...

at the

, the ninth incumbent of this position since it was established by

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

in 1868. Reese was an engineering scientist who conducted and published theoretical and computational research into multiscale

fluid dynamics In physics and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids—liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including '' aerodynamics'' (the study of air and other gases in motion) ...

, in particular, micro and nano flows, as well as rarefied gas dynamics. He was also involved in the industrial application of

fluid mechanics Fluid mechanics is the branch of physics concerned with the mechanics of fluids (liquids, gases, and plasmas) and the forces on them. It has applications in a wide range of disciplines, including mechanical, aerospace, civil, chemical and ...

: he was part of the team that founded Brinker Technology Ltd in 2002 to commercialise a novel leak detection and sealing system for oil/gas pipelines and wellheads, and water mains pipes. From 2012 to 2016, Reese was a member of the Scottish Science Advisory Council, Scotland's highest level science advisory body, providing independent advice and recommendations on science strategy, policy and priorities to the Scottish Government. In 2018, he was awarded a 10-year Chair in Emerging Technologies by the

, to research and develop multiscale engineering design, "from molecules to machines". Reese was an independent member of the Defence Science Expert Committee, DSEC, providing independent scientific and technological advice to the UK's Ministry of Defence. He was also an independent member of the Science & Technology Honours Committee, reviewing and advising on recommendations for UK national honours. He died suddenly at the age of 51 on 8 March 2019; his full obituary was published in

The Herald (Glasgow) ''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...

on 24 March 2019.

Awards and honours

Recognition of his engineering achievements includes: *2000 ExxonMobil Engineering Fellowship,

*2003

for Engineering,

*2004 36th Bruce-Preller Prize Lectureship,

*2005 Fellow 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 Physica ...

(FInstP) *2006 Fellow of the

Institution of Mechanical Engineers The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) is an independent professional association and learned society headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that represents mechanical engineers and the engineering profession. With over 120,000 membe ...

(FIMechE) *2006 Fellow of the

(FRSE) *2006 Finalist,

for Innovation in Engineering,

*2011 Fellow of the

(FREng) *2015 Lord Kelvin Medal (Senior Prize in Physical Sciences),

*2016 Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS Fellow) *2018 Chair in Emerging Technologies,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reese, Jason 1967 births 2019 deaths British mechanical engineers Alumni of Imperial College London Alumni of the University of Oxford Academics of King's College London Academics of the University of Edinburgh People associated with the University of Strathclyde Academic staff of the Technical University of Berlin 20th-century British engineers 21st-century British engineers Regius Professors of Engineering in Edinburgh University Fellows of the Institute of Physics Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering Fellows of the American Physical Society