Sir Robert Lewis Fullarton Boyd FRS (19 October 1922 – 5 February 2004) was a pioneer of British

space science Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless ...

and founding director of the

Mullard Space Science Laboratory The UCL Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL) is the United Kingdom's largest university space research group. MSSL is part of the Department of Space and Climate Physics at University College London (UCL), one of the first universities in th ...

(part of

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 ...

). Robert Boyd was born in

Saltcoats Saltcoats (; Scots: ''Saulcuts'') is a town on the west coast of North Ayrshire, Scotland. The name is derived from the town's earliest industry when salt was harvested from the sea water of the Firth of Clyde, carried out in small cottages ...

Ayrshire Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...

as one of two twin boys. He was a pupil at

Whitgift School Whitgift School is an independent day school with limited boarding in South Croydon, London. Along with Trinity School of John Whitgift and Old Palace School it is owned by the Whitgift Foundation, a charitable trust. The school was prev ...

and studied at

Imperial College Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a cultural district in South Kensington that included museums ...

( BSc(Eng) 1943) and University College London (

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 ...

1949; Fellow 1988). His scientific career started at the Admiralty Mining Establishment in 1943 where he worked with some notable scientists, including

Francis Crick Francis Harry Compton Crick (8 June 1916 – 28 July 2004) was an English molecular biologist, biophysicist, and neuroscientist. He, James Watson, Rosalind Franklin, and Maurice Wilkins played crucial roles in deciphering the Nucleic acid doub ...

, Thomas Gaskell and Harrie Massey. Massey would later encourage Boyd to engage in

atmospheric physics Within the atmospheric sciences, atmospheric physics is the application of physics to the study of the atmosphere. Atmospheric physicists attempt to model Earth's atmosphere and the atmospheres of the other planets using fluid flow equations, rad ...

research at UCL. His thesis was on ''New Techniques for the Study of Ionised Gases''. In addition to helping create the MSSL, Boyd played an instrumental role in the founding of the European Space Research Organization and its subsequent incarnation the

European Space Agency The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member International organization, international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 ...

(1974/75). Boyd succeeded Harrie Massey as the chair of the British National Committee for Space Research in 1976. He became a 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 1969, was awarded its Bakerian Medal in 1978, and was knighted in 1983 in recognition of his services to space science. Boyd was a committed Christian and he saw no conflict but subtle complementarity between science and religion. His 1950s and 1960s writings and lectures on this relationship helped Christians to be more influential in science, through the Research Scientists' Christian Fellowship.

Career

* Experimental Officer at Admiralty Mining Establishment, 1943–46 * DSIR (UK) Research Assistant, 1946–49 * ICI Research Fellow, 1949–52 * Lecturer in Physics, UCL, 1952–58; Reader 1959-62 * Professor of Astronomy (part-time),

Royal Institution The Royal Institution of Great Britain (often the Royal Institution, Ri or RI) is an organisation for scientific education and research, based in the City of Westminster. It was founded in 1799 by the leading British scientists of the age, inc ...

, 1961–67 * Professor of Physics in the University of London, 1962–83, then

Emeritus Professor ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

* Director, Mullard Space Science Laboratory, 1965–83.

Other activities

* Council, Physical Society, 1958–60 * Council,

Royal Astronomical Society The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) is a learned society and charitable organisation, charity that encourages and promotes the study of astronomy, planetary science, solar-system science, geophysics and closely related branches of science. Its ...

, 1962-66 (vice-president, 1964–66) * President, Victoria Institute, 1965–76 * Governor: St Lawrence College, 1965–76 * Governor: Croydon College, 1966–80 * IEE Appleton Lecturer, 1976 * Bakerian Lecturer,

, 1978 * Halley Lecturer,

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, 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 List of oldest un ...

, 1981 * Chairman: Meteorology Research Committee and Astronautics Committee,

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

, 1972–75 * Member: BBC Science Consultative Group, 1970–79 *

Science Research Council The Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) and its predecessor the Science Research Council (SRC) were the United Kingdom, UK agencies in charge of publicly funded scientific and engineering research activities, including astronomy, biote ...

, 1977-81 (chairman, Astronomy, Space and Radio Bd, 1977–80) * British National Committee on Space Research, 1976–87 * Governor: Southlands College, 1976–94 * Trustee,

National Maritime Museum The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the Unit ...

, 1980–89 * Chairman, London Bible College, 1983–90.

Honours

* Fellow of the

, 1969 *

CBE 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 ...

, 1972 * Honorary DSc

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University () is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and was subsequently granted university status by roya ...

, 1979 *

Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

, 1983

References

Who's Who A Who's Who (or Who Is Who) is a reference work consisting of biographical entries of notable people in a particular field. The oldest and best-known is the annual publication ''Who's Who (UK), Who's Who'', a reference work on contemporary promin ...

2004

External links

Obituary from ''Astronomy and Geophysics'' (June 2004)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyd, Robert 1922 births 2004 deaths Academics of UCL Mullard Space Science Laboratory Alumni of University College London Alumni of Imperial College London 20th-century British astronomers Fellows of the Royal Society Knights Bachelor People educated at Whitgift School Scottish evangelicals Space programme of the United Kingdom People from Saltcoats Admiralty personnel of World War II

Career

Other activities

Honours

See also

References

External links