Mavis Kathleen Hinds (1929–2009) was an English meteorologist who, together with Fred Bushby, pioneered the use of computers to carry out meteorological calculations in the UK. She studied Mathematics at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

and on graduating joined the UK Meteorological (Met) Office in 1951, attending their Initial Forecasting Course that year. She went on to work with Bushby in using the Lyons Electronic Office (LEO), an early computer developed by J. Lyons & Co, becoming an expert in writing, running and correcting computer programs for weather forecasting. She was seen at that time as one of the first prominent female meteorologists and also the first to play a leading role in the development of

numerical weather prediction Numerical weather prediction (NWP) uses mathematical models of the atmosphere and oceans to weather forecasting, predict the weather based on current weather conditions. Though first attempted in the 1920s, it was not until the advent of comput ...

, both in the UK and worldwide.

Early life and education

Hinds passed her Higher School Certificate in pure mathematics, applied mathematics and physics. This was an ideal combination of subjects for the study of meteorology in which she was already developing an interest. On the strength of her examination results, she was awarded a scholarship and a place to read Mathematics at University College London.

Research and career

From 1951 Hinds worked at the UK Met Office as part of their Forecast Research Division, which had been set up in 1949 in

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. Hinds, as part of the Division, was instrumental in the development of

(NWP). The earliest days of NWP in the late 1940s relied on hand calculation, but as electronic computing machines began to be developed in the US (

ENIAC ENIAC (; Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) was the first Computer programming, programmable, Electronics, electronic, general-purpose digital computer, completed in 1945. Other computers had some of these features, but ENIAC was ...

) and the UK (

EDSAC The Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator (EDSAC) was an early British computer. Inspired by John von Neumann's seminal ''First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC'', the machine was constructed by Maurice Wilkes and his team at the Universit ...

and LEO), NWP grew in reliability and prevalence. In 1954, at a meeting of the

Royal Meteorological Society The Royal Meteorological Society is an organization that promotes academic and public engagement in weather and climate science. Fellows of the Society must possess relevant qualifications, but Members can be lay enthusiasts. It publishes vari ...

, Fred Bushby and Hinds presented the first computer-based baroclinic forecast in Europe. Since 1951, they had been making use of the computing power of LEO, the world's first business computer, developed by J. Lyons & Co caterers. Because in the early 1950s the UK Met Office had no in-house computing facilities, calculating power had to be obtained from part-time use of LEO and the Ferranti Mark 1 Star at the

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. Use of these very early computers involved working unsociable hours when the machines were not being used by others. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Hinds worked with Bushby and others on a series of published papers that detailed the developments made. In 1981, Hinds reflected on the impact of computing on weather prediction and in 1994 contributed a chapter about the history of Met Office computerisation to Peter Bird's book on the development of the LEO computers. Hinds later worked in management roles before her retirement in 1989.

References

External links

* https://www.leo-computers.org.uk/reports.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Hinds, Mavis 1929 births 2009 deaths British meteorologists Alumni of University College London Women meteorologists British women mathematicians